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Report: UCLA Men’s Basketball Interested in Baylor Transfer LJ Cryer

According to The Portal Report, the Bruins have joined Alabama, Kansas, Gonzaga and others in pursuing the high-scoring guard.

Sam Connon

In this story:

The Bruins have joined the race for one of the hottest veterans on the market.

Baylor guard LJ Cryer has heard from over a dozen top teams since entering the transfer portal on Monday, and he told The Portal Report that UCLA men's basketball was one of the newest teams he has received interest from. Alabama, TCU, Oregon and Louisiana Tech were the other teams on his updated list.

According to a report from On3's Joe Tipton earlier on Wednesday, Cryer had already heard from Kansas, Texas, Kansas State, Houston, Gonzaga, Mississippi State, Texas A&M, Nebraska, Illinois, Clemson, Missouri, Indiana, Clemson, Arkansas and LSU.

Cryer was a four-star recruit coming out of Morton Ranch (TX) in 2020, also considering LSU, Purdue, Texas Tech and other top programs before choosing the Bears.

His freshman year at Baylor, Cryer played 10.0 minutes per game off the bench for the eventual national champions. The 6-foot-1 guard got a bit more run in 2021-2022, bumping his scoring average up from 3.4 to 13.5 points per game.

Cryer started in all 31 of his appearances as a junior, averaging 15.0 points, 2.1 assists and 2.1 rebounds per game and earning All-Big 12 Third Team honors. Cryer's two best scoring performances of the season came against UCLA on Nov. 20 – when he dropped 28 in a win over the Bruins – and against Creighton in the NCAA tournament – when he put up 30 in a losing effort.

For his career, Cryer is shooting 45.3% from the field, 42.5% from deep and 82.8% from the free throw line.

UCLA's needs in the backcourt have yet to be determined, since point guard Tyger Campbell still has a year of eligibility left. Amari Bailey could also return after a successful freshman year in Westwood, but the former five-star recruit could also elect to enter the NBA Draft.

Dylan Andrews is set to take over the point guard position, should Campbell leave. If the Bruins were to add Cryer, the former Baylor star has experience playing next to the pass-first Adam Flagler in Waco.

Based on how much trust the staff has in Andrews and incoming four-star freshman Sebastian Mack, the Bruins would be unlikely to prioritize adding a guard should either Bailey or Campbell come back to school.

UCLA has contacted a handful of players in the transfer portal, but Cryer is the first pure guard. The others – including Harvard forward Chris Ledlum and Temple shooting guard Khalif Battle – project to slide in on the wing.

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Sam Connon
SAM CONNON

Sam Connon was the Publisher and Managing Editor at Sports Illustrated and FanNation’s All Bruins from 2021 to 2023. He is now a staff writer at Sports Illustrated and FanNation’s Fastball. He previously covered UCLA football, men's basketball, women's basketball, baseball, men's soccer, cross country and golf for The Daily Bruin from 2017 to 2021, serving as the paper's Sports Editor from 2019 to 2020. Connon has also been a contributor for 247Sports' Bruin Report Online, Rivals' BruinBlitz, Dash Sports TV, SuperWestSports, Prime Time Sports Talk, The Sports Life Blog and Patriots Country, Sports Illustrated and FanNation’s New England Patriots site. His work as a sports columnist has been awarded by the College Media Association and Society of Professional Journalists. Connon graduated from UCLA in June 2021 and is originally from Winchester, Massachusetts.