Class Of 2023 Wing Mookie Cook Updates Recruitment, UCLA's Status in Latest SI Blog

Back in January, Cook included the Bruins on his list of nine semifinalists with Arizona, Oregon and more.

An elite up-and-coming wing updated fans on his recruitment, the Bruins and more in his latest SI blog.

Class of 2023 small forward Mookie Cook announced his top-nine semifinalists vying for his commitment on Jan. 18. UCLA men’s basketball was one of the universities listed alongside Arizona, Gonzaga, Kansas, Kentucky, Memphis, Michigan, Oregon and Texas Tech. On Friday morning, Cook released a Sports Illustrated blog and updated where things lie with his recruiting, potential visits and more casual topics as well.

Already having taken visits to Kentucky and Oregon, Cook announced that he is also going to travel to Gonzaga and Memphis in the upcoming weeks. UCLA, meanwhile, is still in the mix, and Cook revealed that he thinks he is going to set up a visit with the Bruins soon.

Coach Mick Cronin has also been in contact with Cook. The Compass Prep (AZ) product wrote that Cronin frequently texts him NBA highlights and checks up on him as well. Cook also spoke in detail about the relationships he has built with Kentucky coach John Calipari and Oregon assistant coach Chris Crutchfield.

Cook had previously expressed in an article with On3 what he likes about UCLA and Cronin:

“Mick Cronin kind of stands for himself,” Cook said. “That’s the man. That’s the man on the West Coast. So UCLA would be a great place to be, California.”

Class of 2022 guard and UCLA signee Dylan Andrews competes with Cook at Compass Prep and could possibly strengthen the connection between Cook and the Bruins’ coaching staff. The third member of Compass' elite backcourt is Kylan Boswell, who UCLA offered before he left them off his left of eight semifinalists in January.

In his blog, Cook said that he could create a list of top-five finalists in the summer, but he was still unsure if he would be ready to whittle things down by then.

Out of the nine schools currently on Cook’s list, he has expressed interest in taking a visit to six of them. Many of those potential visits have yet to occur, so the factors on which school Cook might to commit to could change with each visit.

According to the 247Sports Composite, ESPN and Rivals, Cook is a five-star prospect. On the 247 Composite and Rivals, the intriguing wing is the No. 4 overall player in the country, while on ESPN he is No. 5.

UCLA does not have a commitment for the class of 2023 yet. As of Friday, 16 offers have been sent out by the coaching staff, 10 of which have gone to five-star prospects.

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