Bruin Recruiting: Prep News Roundup (11/23)

By Bruin Basketball Report

Commits

UCLA head coach Ben Howland announced today the signing of Tyler Lamb and Josh Smith to National Letters of Intent to attend UCLA in the fall of 2010. The Bruins’ early signing class consists of Lamb, a 6-foot-4-inch, 195-pound guard out of Santa Ana, Calif., and Mater Dei High School and Smith, a 6-foot-10-inch, 280-pound center from Kent, Wash., and Kentwood High School.  Bruin Basketball Report 11/18

Recruits (See List of Prospects)

Trey Zeigler, the shooting guard that UCLA is recruiting out of Michigan, said today that the Bruins rank among the top teams on his list but that he will wait until spring before announcing a decision. Oklahoma and Michigan are among the other schools on the 6-foot-5 prospect's list. His father, Ernie, is the coach at Central Michigan and a former assistant under Ben Howland at UCLA and Pittsburgh. LA Times 11/16

Some of the best Western-based high school seniors who, apparently, aren't going to sign "early" include forward Terrence Jones (Portland Jefferson), who finished atop the Best in the West ratings; guard Jordin Mayes (Westchester), another BIW selection; and guards Deonta Burton (Centennial), Anthony Holliday (Norwalk), Kendall Williams (Los Osos) and LaBradford Franklin (Murrieta Great Oaks). Press Telegram 11/18

For whatever reason, the relationship between Portland Jefferson (Ore.) standout forward Terrence Jones and Arizona became non-existent after Jones did not immediately agree to an official visit to Tucson. Tucson Citizen 11/19

We can tell you that the Beavers are in the thick of it with two other big-time class of 2011 recruits - 6-11, 279 center Kyle Caudill (former Arizona State commit) of Brea Olinda (Calif.) HS, and 6-7, 185 SF Sam Thompson, a teammate of Starks at Whitney Young.  Caudill averaged 16.3 points, 12 rebounds, and two blocks as a 15-year-old sophomore at Brea Olinda.  Oregon Live 11/19

Branden Dawson spent most of his freshman season watching everyone else play basketball. Academically ineligible, his name was off the roster, an omission that didn't sit well with the soft-spoken swing player. That wake-up call caused Dawson to intensify his academic pursuits. When he earned his way back onto the team at Lew Wallace, his coach, Renaldo Thomas, gave him the only jersey not being used -- No. 13. That was the number Thomas wore at Roosevelt in the early 1980s. NWI Times 11/20