7-foot center Vince Iwuchukwu lists UCLA in top five

The class of 2022 big man is also considering USC, Texas, Kansas and Baylor

(Photo Courtesy of Vince Iwuchukwu/Instagram)

Of all the talent the Bruins have on their current roster, the one thing they've been missing the past few seasons is a true 7-footer.

They just got one step closer to hauling one in.

Class of 2022 center Vince Iwuchukwu named UCLA men's basketball as one of his five finalists Friday, along with USC, Texas, Kansas and Baylor. Coming in at 7-feet flat and 220 pounds, the big man would be the Bruins' tallest commit since Moses Brown in 2018.

The San Antonio, Texas, native was also mulling offers from TCU, Florida, Georgia, Washington and others. UCLA was the last of his five finalists to offer, doing so officially on July 19. 

Iwuchukwu had been attending La Lumiere (IN) – the same high school UCLA point guard Tyger Campbell went to before coming to Westwood – but he made waves when he announced he was transferring to powerhouse Montverde Academy (FL) in June. Montverde is the reigning GEICO Nationals champion, and now they get to add Iwuchukwu and his long frame to the mix as well.

SI All-American's Jason Jordan provided a brief scouting report of Iwuchukwu when he announced he'd be transferring to Montverde:

Iwuchukwu is an elite rim protector who has vastly improved his offensive game over the last year, with the ability to knock down shots free-throw line extended, facing-up on the low block and scoring in a variety of different ways. Iwuchukwu has also improved as a rebounder and has a soft touch in the paint.

There might be more playing time for Iwuchukwu than initially expected too, since 6-foot-10 center Jalen Duren – a consensus top-3 prospect in the class of 2022 – reclassified to 2021 and committed to Memphis on Friday. With Duren out of the picture, Iwuchukwu is projected to take over in the starting lineup, if he wasn't going to be part of it already.

Last season at La Lumiere, Iwuchukwu averaged 15 points, 11 rebounds and 2.4 blocks per game.

Both ESPN and the 247Sports Composite rate Iwuchukwu as a four-star prospect and the No. 5 center in the country. The two systems have him ranked as the No. 22 and No. 24 player in the nation, respectively.

Iwuchukwu is the second recruit to name UCLA as a finalist in the past week, with 6-foot-8 power forward Julian Phillips including the Bruins in his top 10 on Monday. Either one would be the first non-guard member of coach Mick Cronin's 2022 class, as guards Amari Bailey and Dylan Andrews are the only two commits making up the group that ranks No. 6 in the country on 247Sports.

Should Iwuchukwu commit to UCLA, its class of 2022 would be either No. 1 or No. 2 in the nation.

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