UCLA Basketball: Bruins Extend Offer To Exciting Big Man Prospect
The scouting department for the UCLA Bruins have been quite busy as of late. We all know that their last few seasons have seen them embark on journeys where they've compiled rosters that are able to make decent runs but never went the full mile once the March Madness tournament rolled around.
This most recent season, they made it to the Sweet 16 where they got a long-awaited matchup against the Gonzaga Bulldogs and some last-second swings led to their season ending early yet again. However, something that was very clear in that matchup was the way that Drew Timme (former star big man of Gonzaga) was able to get pretty much whatever he wanted in the paint.
Therefore, UCLA has been taking notes and it looks like they want to prioritize their forward and center positions a lot more moving forward to avoid this from happening in the future. 6'11 top big man prospect Makhan Diouf from Arizona took to his Twitter to reveal that the Bruins extended an offer to him for their 2024 season.
"i'm blessed to say that i receive an offer from UCLA Alhamdulilah"
247 Sports has listed Diouf as a four-star recruit and number 61 in the nation among his graduating class. His physical traits certainly check out as he is just under seven feet and weighs in at about 200 pounds. He would bring another level of athleticism and defense to UCLA that would instantly bolster their front court.
Bruin Report's Tracy Pierson believes that he still has some raw potential that would need work in order to fully reach but likes what he is showing right now.
"He's a good athlete, not incredible (and in this post-Adem Bona era, UCLA fans have to come back down to earth and realize Adem Bona is an athletic unicorn), but moves pretty well for a 7-footer, with good feet for that size. He has a decent touch around the basket, even though his post moves are a bit mechanical at the moment."
(Via Bruin Report)
Let's see if Diouf decides that UCLA is the right place for him!