UCLA lands Prince Ali, four-star Sagemont (Florida) High SG

When Prince Ali de-committed from UConn this past May, many people were stunned. After all, it was just a month before when Kevin Ollie's squad had hoisted the national title. There was plenty of speculation as to why exactly Ali de-committed, and Ali only fueled the speculation with his quote after de-committing, "It's all part of the process. People may think it's strange, but at the end of the day I have to do what I have to do". The most common thought is that Ali had been hearing from many more schools between his November 2013 commitment and his May 2014 de-commitment, thanks largely to his strong junior season at Sagemont (FL) High School in which the team won the Class 3A State Championship and went undefeated at 33-0.

UCLA had shown interest in Ali since last September when they had an in-home visit with him, followed by an October 3 visit from Steve Alford. Following his de-commitment from UConn, UCLA scheduled an official visit with him for August 31, making it clear their interest in him never waned. Then, on Saturday, SNY's Adam Zagoria broke the news that Ali was UCLA bound.

What does Prince Ali bring to the table for the Bruins though? Incredible size and agility for a shooting guard, for one thing. As shown in his EYBL highlight tape below, the 6-foot-4 guard often takes flight to dunk. His size also gives him an advantage on the defensive side of the ball too, as he averaged six rebounds per game last season.

The news of Ali's commitment to the Bruins moved them up to #7 from #29 on 247Sports 2015 recruiting class rankings, putting them behind only the Arizona Wildcats (#1) in the Pac-12.