While Witz didn't directly say so, that this will be Jamal's fifth of five official visits permitted under NCAA rules, which allow a maximum of 5 expense-paid trips.  Jamal has already visited St. Louis, UConn, Cal, and Kansas.   Witz writes that UConn is already out of the picture [and yes, we confess, we didn't know that it had ever actually been in the picture].

A lot of people are pretty confident about predicting that UCLA will wind up with Jamal, and that's where the smart money is right now.  But as Witz notes, whether UCLA eventually winds up with Sampson, "is anybody's guess -- even his."

Witz also notes that Sampson is a very tough nut to crack when it comes to figuring out his recruiting.  "Sampson's list might as well be written in sand -- it changes almost weekly. Late in the summer, he said Virginia and Syracuse were among his favorites.  'Sometimes you look at one aspect of a program and say, "I can't go there. Then you talk to the coach and clear it up. UCLA's on my list.  I wouldn't say they're in my top two. Right now, it's Kansas and Cal, and St. Louis is right there.' "

Er, um, ok.

Jamal seems to be a little like the guy who falls in love with the girl to whom he last spoke, and we're willing to wager that the Bruins will be showing him a lot of love this weekend.  And the visit to UCLA must also be a signal that Cedric Bozeman is going to be taking a visit as well this weekend, and with the two of them together, there's as good chance as any that the Bruins will get a commitment from Jamal.

But do they have a scholarship for him, with commitments from Andre Patterson, Dijon Thompson, Cedric Bozeman and Michael Fey?  That all depends on who you're talking to.  But counting the scholarship players on the team right now, unless someone goes, the Bruins look like they will be over the limit if they offer Jamal, but given the likelihood that Jason Kapono won't return, that spot should open up, and if Dan Gadzuric leaves too (and that looks to be a 50-50 right now from what we're hearing from our sources), that's one more.