Team signs another freshman talent
The UCLA men’s basketball team signed another blue chip
recruit who has many analysts rating the Bruins’ incoming
class as one of the top two in the nation.
The ink is still wet from 6-foot-8 forward Andre
Patterson’s signature on a letter of intent Wednesday to
attend UCLA. The 210-pound small forward out of Washington
Preparatory High School in Los Angeles averaged 26.8 points and 13
rebounds per game this past season.
The co-Los Angeles City Player of the Year had been actively
recruited by national powerhouses Kentucky and Michigan before
deciding on UCLA this week.
He entered his final high school campaign rated the second-best
small forward in the West and in the top 20 college prospects
overall.
“Andre Patterson is an outstanding player with inside and
outside abilities,” Lavin said in statement. “He
combines quickness and strength with a strong offensive skill set
for a player of his size. Andre is the final piece to our
recruiting puzzle. He is the small forward we need, to go along
with Cedric, Dijon and Michael. I believe our incoming recruiting
class is the best in the country.”
Before signing Patterson, UCLA had slated 6-7 combo guard Cedric
Bozeman (Mater Dei High School in Santa Ana), 6-6 wing-forward
Dijon Thompson (Redondo Union High School) and 6-11 center Michael
Fey (Capital High School in Olympia, Wash.) as incoming freshman
recruits in the fall.
Brief compiled by AJ Cadman, Daily Bruin Senior Staff.