At long last, Class of 2023 Christ The King forward Brandon Williams has committed to UCLA.
Mick Cronin landed one of the most highly coveted recruits, as Williams officially announced his commitment to the Bruins on Monday afternoon.
A young senior who won’t turn 17 until early November, Williams is deadly for his unique and sky-high ceiling.
UCLA and St. John’s were the two programs which have been jockeying for the front runner position on Williams. As a versatile 6-foot-9 point forward type, his multi-positional style attracted a barrage of suitors stemming back to the beginning of his junior year at Christ The King.
Oklahoma State was high on him. Pittsburgh and Iona upped their ante during the summer, as the PSA Cardinals product showed his unique ability to put the ball on the floor and shoot it from distance.
With head coach Mike Boynton having long ties to the NYC area, it seemed Oklahoma State had an early upper hand. OSU, UConn, and Illinois were all finalists when Williams whittled down a long list to five programs.
While all of the programs cross crossed the country and put in considerable time to one of the nation’s most unique recruits, it ultimately came down to an East Coast/West Coast battle between UCLA and St. John’s.
With his skill set and mobility and explosiveness all registering its presence, Williams ascended the national rankings as a Top-100 recruit. People tend to forget, however, that he is still a young senior at age 16.
He could have very well been a 2024 recruit, especially in today’s wild recruiting atmosphere with kids re-classifying at a frantic pace. He could very well grow to 7-feet, as well.
Sold on his all around game and ability to thrive with structure and take hard coaching, Williams quickly became a prized recruit.
In the fishbowl and pressure cooker that is New York City, has every move has been charted, analyzed, and dissected.
He wasn’t as receptive to the spotlight as his current Christ The King teammate and 6-foot-7 St. John’s commit, Brandon Gardner.
The pressure and expectation and social media frenzy that comes with being the most upside-heavy recruit in New York, after all, can certainly gnaw at you.
Williams discussed the prospect of staying at home with several people, including former St. John’s star and Bishop Loughlin product Julian Champagnie, who is currently on a two way contract with the Philadelphia 76ers.
Playing on the elevated stage of elite level college basketball has long been a dream Williams maintained over the last few years. It drove him to ramp up with the required work and make big sacrifices.
Time management and devotion to getting into the gym, getting shots up and embracing the skill development workload played a major role in Williams’ rapid ascension.
He avoided distractions as he continued to develop his craft and hammer away to refine every element of his game.
Now, he’s West Coast bound.
