Arrinten Page Latest Recruit to Earn UCLA Men's Basketball Scholarship Offer
After offering almost exclusively top-tier, highly sought-after prospects for most of the cycle, the Bruins are getting in early on a dark horse.
UCLA men's basketball sent a scholarship offer out to class of 2023 power forward Arrinten Page on Thursday, his AAU team The Skill Factory announced on Twitter. It marked the 18th offer for the Wheeler (GA) product.
Page's other offers are from Alabama, Cincinnati, Florida, Georgia, Georgia State, Georgia Tech, Indiana, Kennesaw State, LSU, Missouri, Ole Miss, Radford, SMU, UAB, UCF, USC, Wichita State and Xavier.
Page's market has heated up drastically this spring, starting with the first two evaluation periods back in April. Page starred alongside point guard Isaiah Collier on the Nike EYBL circuit, leaving him on the receiving end of passes from one of the top floor generals in the country.
While Collier drew attention for his playmaking skills, Page was the finisher on many of his dishes in the pick-and-roll and on the fast break. After standing out in Orlando to open the spring, Page had his biggest performance of the season in Indianapolis a few weeks later when he put up 27 points and six rebounds on 11-of-14 shooting from the field and 4-of-4 shooting from the line with a 3-pointer mixed in as well.
The two are also high school teammates, leading Wheeler to a 25-5 record their junior year.
UCLA has made Collier a top target, as he is a consensus top-25 player in the nation who just came out to Westwood for an official visit on May 14 alongside fellow five-star Ron Mitchell. Both Collier and Mitchell have the Bruins as a semifinalist in their recruitment.
If Page and Collier are being looked at as a package deal of sorts, UCLA is not the only school trying to score both of their commitments. Alabama, Cincinnati, Georgia and USC are Collier's other semifinalist that have also extended Page an offer.
Page does not currently have ratings or rankings from 247Sports, ESPN or On3, but Rivals has him pegged as a three-star. The 6-foot-9 post player will surely appear in every outlet's rankings as the cycle progresses, most likely later in the summer.
UCLA will be facing a lot of turnover on the wings with Jaime Jaquez Jr., Jules Bernard, David Singleton and Amari Bailey all likely leaving next offseason, but the future of their rotation down low is far more uncertain. McDonald's All-American center Adem Bona may or may not be a one-and-done player, while forward Kenny Nwuba will be heading into his sixth year and forward Mac Etienne has yet to return from the torn ACL he suffered in October.
Coach Mick Cronin and his staff are pursuing several big men for their 2023 class, but have not earned a commitment at any position as of Thursday. Five-star center Aaron Bradshaw included UCLA in his top seven on Monday, while five-star power forward KJ Evans put the Bruins in his top five back in April.
UCLA has 11 offers out to uncommitted prospects, and Page is the first who isn't at least a four-star and safely inside the top 75 in the 247Sports Composite Rankings.
There are plenty of dominoes left to fall in UCLA's pursuit of Page, Collier and others, but the early signing period is now less than six months away.
Follow Connon on Twitter at @SamConnon
Follow All Bruins on Twitter at @SI_AllBruins
Like All Bruins on Facebook at @SI.AllBruins
Subscribe to All Bruins on YouTube
Read more UCLA stories: UCLA Bruins on Sports Illustrated
Read more UCLA men's basketball stories: UCLA Men's Basketball on Sports Illustrated
