Rivals’ Rob Cassidy on Adem Bona

[Smashcat]

I logged a UCLA FutureCast for
Adem Bonaback on Oct. 12, and I’m not feeling particularly inclined to change it on the heels of the four-star prospect’s official visit to Westwood. That said, my confidence level has never been through the roof here. So once again, I’ll cautiously pick the Bruins.

The buzz prior to Bona’s visit to UCLA was that Mick Cronin’s task was simply to “not screw it up.” It’s been pretty quiet in the wake of Bona’s official visit, however, which is probably good news on that front. Bad news seems to find a way to leak quickly, after all.
Bona is yet to set an announcement date, but most expect his commitment will come in short order. My opinion is that the faster it happens, the better it is for UCLA. If this stretches on too much longer, it may signify that momentum is swinging back toward Kentucky.

Basketball Recruiting - Twitter Tuesday: Adem Bona, Anthony Black, St. John's

Four-star Anthony Black is the No. 34 prospect in the 2022 class.

basketballrecruiting.rivals.com

 

[SmedMoley]

It's probably UCLA, I suppose. It's baffling to me that we can no longer recruit elite big men. The NBA is packed with our guys.

If we have to strike out on guys in this class, I'd prefer it be big men. Guard play is more important these days. And the portal should be loaded with big guys looking for a new home. If we get Bona, great. If not, we'll be fine.

 

[kb22stang]

It's probably UCLA, I suppose. It's baffling to me that we can no longer recruit elite big men. The NBA is packed with our guys.

If we have to strike out on guys in this class, I'd prefer it be big men. Guard play is more important these days. And the portal should be loaded with big guys looking for a new home. If we get Bona, great. If not, we'll be fine.

In college I'd much rather have an overacheiving transfer than most of the bigs coming out of high school. There are exceptions, like Anthony Davis, but those are rare.

 

[Lempface]

Boohoo Cal wanted Lively and now Bona doesn't feel special. Stupid mindset.

 

[YardCat]

You know what, I hope he picks UCLA and picks now. I’m tired of the players dragging it out. These players are turning into Diva’s and we miss out on others, while waiting on a guy that isn’t coming here anyway.

 

[the stat man]

Inner circle wins again most likely knew they couldn’t control the kid if he came to Kentucky

 

[LineSkiCat14]

I just hope to learn about some of the backdoor stuff during Cal's tenure in the future.

It's almost comical to have his recruiting/NBA results and still have kids every year be like "Na, this one guy recruiting me is just trying to 'not screw it up', and to me, that screams confidence from a coach I'm putting my future on the line for"

 

[Ed323232]

You know what, I hope he picks UCLA and picks now. I’m tired of the players dragging it out. These players are turning into Diva’s and we miss out on others, while waiting on a guy that isn’t coming here anyway.

It’s a pretty big decision for an 18 year old to make. As fans we want to know now. But why should he be in a rush? If a school wants him now they should want him when he’s ready.

 

[BarefootBeach]

He is a good prospect so I'd love to have him but the thought of an over-achieving experienced transfer is quite nice too

 

[jace2012]

UK can just pick him up as a sophomore after he becomes unhappy with Coach Sir Charms. Kinda like they did with Oscar and West Virginia fiasco

 

[Gassy_Knowls]

Will Mick Cronin even be sober this year?

 

[westerncat]

I hope Cal can convince him to come to UK. I will not be surprised if he picks UK.

 

[turkeywildturkey]

It's probably UCLA, I suppose. It's baffling to me that we can no longer recruit elite big men. The NBA is packed with our guys.

If we have to strike out on guys in this class, I'd prefer it be big men. Guard play is more important these days. And the portal should be loaded with big guys looking for a new home. If we get Bona, great. If not, we'll be fine.

I agree.

 

[crxohio]

Original target date was oct 25th mentioned before the ucla visit. Then we revisit that day, just to tell us like cade? We have chosen not to come to university of kentucky? Optimistic about him totally going to ucla now.. but probably still gets swayed there. But no one is writing feedback about his ucla visit. Weird

 

[drbubba]

Inner circle wins again most likely knew they couldn’t control the kid if he came to Kentucky

Johnny Juzang and a host of other west coast guys don't seem to stay long anyway. I hope we keep Tyty a while. At least we are a threat to ucla recruiting.

 

[gharding07]

Id rather have a Reid Travis like transfer than a fringe 5 star/4 star prospect anyway. Still pissed we didnt land Lively.

 

[uk78]

4 star, or so the beginning of the article indicated. Other than size what exactly is the talent level? Is he a prospect or will he impact right away?
I don't know who might be available as a transfer so I guess Cal is needing to know he has someone in the role in addition to Lance Wear most likely next season.

 

[BlueSince92]

Kenneth Victor Payne