Steve Alford finds himself in the pressure cooker following the withdrawal of Filipino basketball player Kobe Paras. The incoming freshman withdrew from UCLA for failing to meet the academic conditions, something critics believe Alford should have been aware of.
Limited to no minutes for Kobe Paras
Filled with promise, some question Paras’ ability to jockey for playing time under Alford. He was a key part of the Compton Magic but seeing him play the same with the Bruins was hard to visualize, according to Bruins Nation.
Seeing Paras on the court was pretty hard to see. For a team that has Bryce Alford, Lonzo Ball, Isaac Hamilton, Prince Ali and Aaron Holiday, the Filipino cager would have ended up spending more time on the bench than on the court.
What about succeeding years? The recruitment process of the Bruins never stops. Next year, Jaylen Hands is expected to come in. With Holiday and Ali still around, Paras may never get the proper minutes on the court. In short, Paras would have wasted his time and ended up as a non-factor.
Steve Alford needs new approach
Though it was not the first time that Alford bungled in the recruitment process, it is a lesson learned moving forward. Alford and his staff need to understand that while there are plenty of talented players they can get to don the Bruins jersey, there are conditions to be met.
UCLA has certain academic standards the need to be satisfied and apparently they need to be satisfied above anything else. Previous coaches were able to recruit players under the prerequisite so Alford may want to start by checking how others did the trick before.
All is not yet lost for Kobe Paras
For Paras, there are still offers on the table. He did have offers from Cal and Arizona state according to ESPN though there is no word if the offers are still on the table. He needs to address his academic deficiencies for now and likely settle for a nearby community college for the meantime.
For those who are not familiar with Kobe Paras, check out the video below showing how he won the 2015 FIBA 3x3 U18 dunk contest.