(Photo Courtesy of Dusty Stromer/Instagram)
Dusty Stromer Announces Final 4, UCLA Men's Basketball Makes Cut
One of the top prospects in Southern California has moved the Bruins on to the final stage of his recruitment.
Class of 2023 shooting guard Dusty Stromer whittled his list down to four finalists on Wednesday, he announced on social media in conjuncture with On3's Joe Tipton. UCLA men's basketball is one of those finalists, with Gonzaga, Arizona and Houston standing in as the other contenders.
Stromer also had offers from Cal, Creighton, Illinois, Long Beach State, Louisville, Ole Miss, Nevada, New Mexico, Pepperdine, Rutgers, San Diego State, TCU, Texas A&M, UNLV and USC, but they all wound up missing the cut.
The 6-foot-6 guard from Notre Dame (CA) in Sherman Oaks picked up his offer from the Bruins on Aug. 16, a month after Houston offered. Gonzaga and Arizona were Stromer's two most recent offers, and he took an official visit to the Bulldogs in February.
Stromer talked about some of his options earlier in the season in an interview with On3, detailing his overall relationship with UCLA.
“I love the coaching staff," Stromer said. "Me and my dad – especially my dad, he really, really gets along with the coaches and I think that’s a huge part of it, like a real relationship with the staff. I feel like we have a really good relationship. It’s close to home so my mom likes that a little bit.”
Stromer has made several unofficial visits to Westwood, an easy trip for the wing who lives roughly 8 miles away.
The Bruins' staff has had its eye on Stromer for a long time, watching and evaluating him as early as last offseason, when he was a sophomore.
Stromer has taken a major leap this season, as he is averaging 21.1 points, 6.2 rebounds and 1.4 steals per game for Notre Dame. Stromer is currently shooting 48% from the field, 40% from deep and 81% from the free throw line, all career highs.
247Sports, Rivals and ESPN all have Stromer pegged as a four-star prospect. The 247Sports Composite has Stromer ranked as the No. 5 player in California, No. 7 shooting guard in the country and No. 37 prospect in his class. Stromer is ranked no lower than No. 52 overall across the major outlets.
UCLA does not yet have a commit for its 2023 recruiting class, but they are a semifinalist for top prospects Mookie Cook and Rayvon Griffith. All 16 of the offers coach Mick Cronin and his staff have sent out are four or five-star recruits, potentially setting up another class that can rival the incoming 2022 group of Amari Bailey, Adem Bona and Dylan Andrews.
Stromer has not announced a timeline on his ultimate decision, giving the Bruins ample time to close things out with the local product. However, it might be in UCLA's best interest to host Stromer on a visit this upcoming weekend – official or otherwise – considering Saturday's contest against USC will be the team's final home game until next November.
If Stromer plans to commit before the early signing period next fall, Saturday stands out as a potentially major chance to roll out the red carpet heading into a packed Pauley Pavilion. The game is already sold out, according to Ben Bolch of the Los Angeles Times, and has major postseason implications hanging over it, in addition to the crosstown rivalry environment.
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