Reports: Slovenian Star Jan Vide Commits to UCLA Men's Basketball
Another top international player has joined the Bruins' revamped roster.
Slovenian guard Jan Vide has committed to UCLA men's basketball, multiple outlets reported Monday night. The Bruins already picked up a commitment from French wing Ilane Fibleuil in April, and they are reportedly on the verge of bringing in Spanish center Aday Mara as well.
As for Vide, the 6-foot-6 combo guard played three seasons with Real Madrid's U18 squad before deciding to head overseas for college. This season, Vide averaged 19.0 points, 3.6 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 1.3 steals in 26.1 minutes per game on .563/.361/.756 shooting splits.
In the 2021 FIBA U16 Challengers, Vide averaged 27.0 points, 5.6 rebounds and 4.2 assists per game while leading Slovenia to a 4-1 record. Slovenia didn't fare as well in the 2022 U17 FIBA World Cup, going 4-3, but Vide still averaged 20.1 points, 5.7 rebounds and 3.6 assists per game.
Vide was the leading scorer at both international tournaments, shooting a combined 34.1% from the field, 26.0% from deep and 73.9% from the free throw line. Just this past week, Vide won MVP at the adidas Next Generation Tournament after averaging 21.2 points, 5.7 rebounds and 4.0 assists per game.
Plenty of NBA guards have come out of Slovenia in the recent past, including Luka Doncic, Goran Dragic, Sasha Vujacic and Beno Udrih.
The Bruins' international recruiting has exploded since they hired assistant coach Ivo Simovic last June. Italian guard/forward Abramo Canka signed on in August, and although Turkish big man Ege Demir was ultimately unable to enroll, he reportedly committed to UCLA in September.
Simovic also ran point for the recruitment of five-star small forward Andrej Stojakovic before he committed to Stanford in November, and his Serbian roots played a key role in the Bruins adding Utah transfer Lazar Stefanovic on April 8.
UCLA was in desperate need of both wings and secondary ball-handlers, with Jaime Jaquez Jr., Tyger Campbell, Amari Bailey, David Singleton and Jaylen Clark all set to turn pro. Canka and Will McClendon were in line to be the only returning scholarship wings, but the former recently transferred to Wake Forest.
McClendon now has reinforcements from Vide, Fibleuil, Stefanovic and four-star recruit Brandon Williams.
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PHOTO COURTESY OF JAN VIDE/INSTAGRAM
