UCLA Basketball: 4-Star Local Big Man Recruit Unpacks Bruins Courtship

This Studio City rising senior is a top Mick Cronin target.

Mar 14, 2024; Las Vegas, NV, USA; UCLA Bruins head coach Mick Cronin walks off the court after the Oregon Ducks defeated the Bruins 68-66 at T-Mobile Arena. Mandatory Credit: Stephen R. Sylvanie-USA TODAY Sports / Stephen R. Sylvanie-USA TODAY Sports

Four star junior power forward Nikolas Khamenia out of Harvard Westlake in Studio City is on the radar of Mick Cronin's UCLA Bruins — and several other elite programs. Tracy Pierson of Bruin Report Online recently caught up with the young prep phenom as he continues to weigh his NCAA options.

"Right now, I'm kind of letting recruitment just kind of handle itself. I'm paying attention to all of the little things — who's coming to my games, who sees what in me, who really thinks I can play for their program and play for their coach," the 6-foot-8 big man said of how he's handling the recruiting process.

When asked about which schools have long had him on their radars, Khamenia listed a litany of options.

"I mean schools like UCLA, Gonzaga, Kansas, those schools have been there since almost forever. Illinois since last summer," Khamenia said, while adding that other programs have offered him more recently.

Pierson next asked Khamenia to hone in on the fits of UCLA and Gonzaga specifically. He offered some fascinating insights into that process.

"Two family-oriented places, they help their guys get better, they use versatile guys like myself, their coaches believe in guys to come in and play, and they coach really hard, they want guys to get better," Khamenia said of Gonzaga and UCLA.

Khamenia offered up a veritable rave review for Cronin, with whom it sounds like he's developed a solid relationship. Cronin does, after all, boast something of a homecourt advantage.

"I've talked to Coach Cronin multiple times, I've been to UCLA's campus quite a bit, it's close to home. He's a great coach, he's a great person off the court as well,"

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