UCLA Men's Basketball Offers Class of 2024 Guard Jamari Phillips

After watching him from afar for much of the past year, the Bruins have taken the next step with one of the top recruits in the state.

Class of 2024 guard Jamari Phillips picked up an offer from UCLA men's basketball Wednesday, the prospect announced on Twitter. The Modesto Christian (CA) product has been a target for the Bruins since last summer, and although other programs have since jumped in with offers of their own, the blue and gold are now officially in on the highly-rated guard.

Phillips also has offers from Cal, Illinois, Kansas, LSU, Ole Miss, Southern Utah, Texas Tech, USC, Washington and Washington State.

Blessed to receive a offer from UCLA #GoBruins💙💛 pic.twitter.com/H8NfY9chDE
— Jamari “jiggy” Phillips (@iluvjamari) April 27, 2022

Coach Mick Cronin and associate head coach Darren Savino watched Phillips at the Section 7 Tournament in Glendale, Arizona, last June. The Golden Bears offered Phillips immediately after seeing him that week, but the Bruins waited a whole 10 months before reaching that stage.

Phillips was back on display at the Nike EYBL Camp in Orlando at the beginning of April, giving Cronin and Savino another look at the guard. UCLA offered several prospects who were participating that week, and although it took three extra weeks, Phillips has been added to that list.

In leading PG Elite (CA) to a victory over Mac Irvin Fire (IL) in Orlando, Phillips put up 32 points on 6-of-7 shooting from inside the arc, 4-of-7 from deep and 8-of-9 from the free throw line.

Phillips averaged 23.0 points, 3.3 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 1.5 steals per game as a sophomore at Modesto Christian this past season. Those numbers, and his ability to lead the Crusaders to a 30-6 record, were enough to make him Modesto Bee District Player of the Year.

Looking at his shooting splits, Phillips put up a .510/.400/.770 line, demonstrating his ability to score in multiple ways.

Phillips is a four-star prospect according to 247Sports, Rivals and ESPN, but a five-star in the 247Sports Composite. In the 247Sports Composite, Phillips ranks as the No. 3 player in California, No. 5 shooting guard in the nation and No. 15 player in the entire class.

By the time 2024 rolls around, the Bruins will be facing the kind of roster turnover they haven't dealt with often through Cronin's first few years. Jaime Jaquez Jr., Tyger Campbell, Jules Bernard, David Singleton and Jaylen Clark will all be gone, and incoming freshmen Amari Bailey and Adem Bona may be NBA-bound by then.

Dylan Andrews and Will McClendon could be a junior and redshirt junior, respectively, come that season, so Cronin won't be working with a completely empty cupboard.

Phillips is one of several players who could join that small, mysterious veteran core. UCLA has sent out eight offers to class of 2024 prospects, six of which went to guards and six of which went to top-15 players in the country.

Reeling in top-ranked backcourt recruits appears to be a priority for Cronin and his staff, and Phillips is going to be one of the biggest pieces in that push.

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