Ja'Kobe Walter Lists UCLA Men's Basketball Among Top 8 Semifinalists

The top recruit narrowed down his list of possible destinations to include the Bruins, Texas, Auburn, Baylor, Kansas and others.

(Photo Courtesy of Ja'Kobe Walter)

The Bruins' pursuit of the top juniors in the country took a step forward Wednesday afternoon.

Class of 2023 shooting guard Ja'Kobe Walter announced the top eight schools in his recruitment, and UCLA men's basketball made the cut. The other seven semifinalists are Seton Hall, Auburn, Kansas, Alabama, Baylor, Oklahoma and Texas.

The 6-foot-5 wing from McKinney High School (TX) also had offers from Arkansas, Florida, Gonzaga, Kansas State, LSU, Memphis, Ohio State, Oklahoma State, Oregon, TCU, Texas A&M and Texas Tech.

🎱. AGTG❤️ pic.twitter.com/K2GgI68Gx4

— Ja’Kobe Walter (@JaKobeWalter1) May 4, 2022

The Bruins offered Walter on July 1, 2021, later than any of the other seven semifinalists.

Walter just wrapped up an official visit at Texas and recently had an in-home visits from Alabama and Baylor's staffs, with most of the more local schools seeming to hold the momentum in his recruitment. That didn't stop UCLA's staff from visiting Walter's home at the end of April too, though, according to The Circuit's Alex Karamanos.

With Walter leading the way, McKinney went 35-6 this season and made it to the 6A state championships. Heading into the playoffs, Walter was averaging 24.7 points, 7.4 rebounds and 2.4 steals per game while shooting 53% from the field, 40% from 3 and 85% from the free throw line.

UCLA has gotten a chance to reconnect with McKinney on the adidas 3SSB circuit, watching him suit up for Team Trae Young. Walter is the league's leading scorer, capping off the second evaluation period with a 33-point performance to bump his average up to 28.3 a night.

Walter is a five-star prospect, according to ESPN, while coming in among the top four-star players' in the nation on 247Sports and Rivals' rankings. The 247Sports Composite has Walter slotted in at No. 2 at his position and in his state, in addition to the No. 23 spot in the entire class of 2023.

UCLA is also pursuing the No. 1 player in Texas – consensus five-star power forward Ron Holland, who is coming to Westwood for an official visit on May 12.

The pair of Lonestar State products could prove valuable additions to coach Mick Cronin's 2023 recruiting class, considering he does not have a commit in the cycle as of Wednesday. Add to that the combined loss of four-star shooting guards Dusty Stromer to Gonzaga and Rayvon Griffith to Cincinnati, and the Bruins' options are waning just a bit.

There are still plenty of high-level targets out there – namely, five-star point guard Isaiah Collier, five-star power foward KJ Evans, four-star small forward Andrej Stojakovic and four-star power forward Milan Momcilovic.

Cronin will have to secure commitments from more players in this cycle than he ever has before, though, with Jaime Jaquez Jr., Tyger Campbell, Jules Bernard, David Singleton and Amari Bailey all likely leaving the program next offseason.

The Bruins are apparently still very much in the mix for Walter, with the next step being to hopefully lock him into an official visit of his own. 

Follow Connon on Twitter at @SamConnon
Follow All Bruins on Twitter at @SI_AllBruins
Like All Bruins on Facebook at @SI.AllBruins
Subscribe to All Bruins on YouTube

Read more UCLA stories: UCLA Bruins on Sports Illustrated
Read more UCLA men's basketball stories: UCLA Men's Basketball on Sports Illustrated