bozeman commits . . . .again

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SoCalHoops Recruiting News

Cedric Bozeman Commits To UCLA Again;
Tyson Has A Visitor--(Sept. 19, 2000)

PacWestHoops reported last night that Cedric Bozeman (6'-6" Sr. PG/SG) committed to UCLA, which actually comes as a huge surprise to absolutely no one. We hate to sound too blase' about it, but the rumors that he would commit "soon" have been circulating for weeks. And while many claimed that Cedric was also seriously considering Florida, and while Florida's interest in Cedric was also substantial, it just was never in the cards. UCLA has always been the top choice and he again confirmed that last night. Whether he signs though will be the true, and only test.

We had a chance to speak with Cedric's father, Rudy Bozeman two weeks ago at the Fullcourt Press Fall Hoops Classic at Lynwood, the day before the Bruins came into the Bozeman household, and at that time his father told us that, at least in his view Florida was not really in the running. "Florida's a football school," Mr. Bozeman told us. "They had a great year last year, and Coach Donovan is a great coach, but really, why would Cedric travel all the way to Florida and leave home when he can play right here at UCLA. It is UCLA," he said with a smile.

The commitment of Bozeman is one of those sort of things which has us both pleased but simultaneously mumbling "we'll believe it when the ink is dry." Remember, Cedric "committed" last year at this time, and just to prove that "verbals" are worth the paper they are written on, he reportedly "decommitted" (a term which we think was invented just for Bozeman last year) and "reopened" his recruiting. Some cynics said it was only to be able to take official visits at other schools besides UCLA, and other equally cynical people said it was because of the howls of derision from some of the alumni who wanted Lavin's head and thought Bozeman was too "skinny" or too "soft" or just plain not good enough to be a Bruin. Fools. Idiots. They just had never seen Bozeman play and while we've had our doubts about whether he will actually wind up playing the point or combo spots, whatever the case, the word is now on the street that Cedric has "re-committed" to Coach Lavin, and he'll sign with the Bruins.

What will he sign? We're betting that it will be a National Letter of Intent, sometime next month (the fall early signing period runs from November 11-18, and these are the dates when seniors can first sign LOI's). But likewise, it would not surprise us one bit if Cedric chose to hold out, not sign an LOI, and instead insisted on signing a scholarship agreement. We don't mean to make the Bruin faithful mad, but a player in Cedric's position can probably afford to at least ask for a scholarship agreement and say that he's not going to sign an LOI (which binds him to the school no matter what, and which requires that he sit out a year if he changes his mind). . . .Can you say "Spencer Gloger?" Actually this is probably closer to the Jason Kapono commitment, and it could have the same impact, because we think Cedric is capable of having the kind of elite-level impact of a Kapono or Arenas as a freshman. Scholarship agreement it is then. . . .

And will the Bozeman "re-commitment" help with Lavin's recruitment of Cedric's Mater Dei teammate Jamal Sampson (6'-11" Sr. C)? Who knows. . . .Jamal is a pretty tough nut to crack, and while there has been plenty of talk over the past two years that he and Cedric want to go to the same school, (something we reported in 1999 down in San Diego at the Nike Summer National Championships) we continually hear about guys who want to go as a "package" deal, and when push usually comes to shove, it rarely happens (and besides, remember UCLA's last "package" Rush & Watson. . .something about packages just doesn't seem to ever work out the way many anticipate). Still, our guess is that Jamal Sampson will indeed go with Cedric and UCLA will have a virtually complete front line next year (at least they'll be tall, even if all of these big guys are in serious need of some weight training) consisting of Michael Fey and Jamal Sampson (to replace Gadzuric), along with current Bruin freshman TJ Cummings (6'-9" Fr. F), Josiah Johnson (6'-8" Fr. F)--who we hear is considering redshirting this coming season, not to mention John Hoffart a 6'-10" transfer from Cal Poly SLO.

So if the Bruins can sign Jamal would they be finished with "bigs" for next year? Probably, but don't be surprised if someone we keep hearing about as being a "lock" for the NBA lottery next season doesn't also start to generate some renewed interest from colleges, including UCLA. . . And we wouldn't be a bit surprised if he ultimately signed with a college somewhere. . . Notice we used the word "signed" not "attended" because we too think that it's extremely unlikely that Tyson Chandler (7'-0" Sr. C) from Compton Dominguez will wind up anywhere but in the NBA next season. . . Still, we continue to hear tantalizing little tidbits, like the fact that Tyson had an in-home visit with John Calipari this past Sunday evening following the Rim Rattler Inland Empire Invitational, at which Compton Dominguez wound up playing instead of up in Fresno. And remember, Tyson has publicly said several times that if he decides to attend college, his first choice would be UCLA.

The thought is tantalizing, because this would be just the kind of move which, if the Bruins could pull it off, would absolutely secure a sure-fire No. 1 recruiting class (geez, this is beginning to sound like Clark Francis. . . ), and guarantee Lavin at least some respite from the hounds. Would the Bruins actually take an LOI from Tyson, and in essence "waste" a scholarship on a guy who most think won't play in college anyway, thereby foregoing other recruits who will actually enroll and play in college somewhere?

The answer we think, is "In a heartbeat." Still, notwithstanding the Memphis home visit, it's likely that what Calipari and Chandler really spent their time discussing is what Calipari thinks Tyson will really need to accomplish in order to avoid being just a one-year flop in the league. Certainly he's a player whose skills would not at all be hurt by a year of play and solid coaching at the NCAA level, and it sure would be fun to see him play in college. . . and it's also hard to fathom a coach like Calipari, like any NCAA coach with limited travel days on the road, flying all the way out to California just to chat with Tyson, without any thought that he might also actually be interested in attending college for a year.

Ahhhhh, we can only hope. . . . .