Kris Wilkes to Return to UCLA for Sophomore Year
By JACOB POLACHECK UCLA guard Kris Wilkes will
By JACOB POLACHECK CHICAGO -- Kris Wilkes, the
Kris Wilkes, the 6-foot-8 small forward from Indianapolis (IN) North Central, committed to UCLA over Indiana and Illinois on Sunday.
Assistant coach David Grace gets the assist.
All signs had pointed to Wilkes picking the Bruins after Brian Bowen cancelled his recent visit to UCLA.
“When I took my official visit there it just felt right to me,” Wilkes told Scout.com. “I just felt it was the perfect spot and it felt like home. All of the schools recruiting me did a great job, and I thank them very much for their interest, but I was more comfortable with UCLA.
“I watched a lot of tape and did a lot of research into the roster, and I saw all the centers and power forwards they had on their roster so I knew I’d be playing my position,” Wilkes said. “I was just very confident that I would develop there, and that I could reach my potential in their system.”
The NCAA early signing period runs Nov. 9-16 and we will begin to see more and more Class of 2017 recruits come off the board. Here’s an overview of some top recruits who are poised to announce this month. This list will be updated going forward.
11/2: Darryl Morsell, a 6-foot-5, 200-pound combo guard from Baltimore (MD) Mount Saint Joseph and the Team Melo AAU Program, committed to Maryland on Wednesday. Read more here.
Predicton: Maryland
Actual: Maryland
11/7: Troy Brown Jr., the 6-7 point guard/small forward from Centennial (NV) High School, committed to Oregon over Ohio State, Alabama, Georgetown and Kansas. Read more here.
Prediction: Oregon
Actual: Oregon
11/7: Daejon Davis, the 6-foot-3 combo guard from Garfield (WA) High School, announced his commitment to Washington. Read more here.
Prediction: Washington
Actual: Washington
11/9: Garrison Brooks, the 6-9 power forward from Auburn (AL), committed to Mississippi State over Auburn, Georgia, LSU and North Carolina. Read more here.
Prediction: UNC
Actual: Mississippi State
11/10: Collin Sexton, the 6-2 point guard from Pebblebrook (GA) High School, committed to Alabama over N.C. State, Georgia Tech, and Kansas. Read more here.
Prediction: Alabama
Actual: Alabama
With Kris Wilkes' commitment to UCLA imminent,
Kris Wilkes has an eventful summer on his hands.
The 6-foot-7 small forward from Indianapolis (IN) North Central is currently at the USA Basketball Men’s U18 National Team training camp in Colorado Springs., Co., where he hopes to make the final 12-member team that will compete in the FIBA Americas U18 Championship July 19-23 in Valdivia, Chile.
He will also compete at the Steph Curry SC30 Select Camp later this summer as well as on the Under Armour circuit with the Indy Hoosiers.
“It’s definitely an honor,” Wilkes said by phone from the U18 camp, where he made the first cut to 18 players on Thursday. “There’s a lot of top players out there. To win that gold medal, it’s something that a lot of people want to do and not everyone has a chance to do. It’s definitely an honor.”
