UCLA Men's Basketball: How New Commit Survived Major Recruiting Hurdles To Play For Bruins

He stayed committed!

Majority of fans of the UCLA Bruins are well-aware of the versatile skillset that incoming international star Berke Buyuktuncel will be able to bring to the table in his first year with the program. Buyuktuncel stands at 6'6 and will be given similar responsibilities that Jaime Jaquez once took on for the squad in the past.

Above all else, he will be able to stretch the floor and be able to create open looks for others. Even though past UCLA teams went heavy on recruiting some of the best players in California specifically along with other neighboring states, head coach Mick Cronin and the rest of his staff have put together a roster this year that is extremely unique and skilled all-around.

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Buyuktuncel, similar to another incoming freshman in Aday Mara, had quite the difficult road to UCLA and even though he is finally set to play for them in the 2023-2024 season, it certainly was not easy to make it official.

247 Sports' Tracy Pierson went in depth on what the process was like to get Buyuktuncel in the blue and gold and looking back on it, it required quite the patience from both sides.

"Wow, this was a long train running. UCLA, if you remember, recruited Buyktuncel last year, for the 2022 class, and had him committed back in late summer of 2022. But he didn't get past UCLA admissions. Amazingly, and to his immense credit, Buyktuncel didn't end his relationship with UCLA right then. Also, big props to the coaching staff for keeping Buyuktuncel interested in UCLA. The talented Turkish player continued to play with the Turkish pro team, Tofas S.K., and UCLA kept recruiting him, and he maintained his interest. He worked hard to get his academics to the level of UCLA admission, including improving on the TOEFL, the discriminatory English proficiency exam."

(Via 247 Sports)

Pierson also mentioned how the Turkish prospect turned down interest from other programs and remained determined to end up with the Bruins. However, it was meant to be and he's in Westwood now!