UCLA Men’s Basketball Targets Rayvon Griffith, Dusty Stromer Update Decision Timelines

Two class of 2023 shooting guards who have the Bruins as a finalist are slated to make their commitments in early May.

Two of the Bruins’ top targets are nearing their commitment decisions and could start to shape their 2023 recruiting class.

As of Friday, UCLA men’s basketball has not received a commitment for the class of 2023, but that could soon change depending on how the next three weeks go in the recruitment of shooting guards Rayvon Griffith and Dusty Stromer. Griffith included UCLA in his top five on Sunday, while Stromer announced on March 2 that the Bruins would be one of his final four options.

Both recruits are officially nearing their decisions for which school their respective basketball careers will begin. Griffith, who plays at Taft High School (OH), announced Thursday evening on an Instagram Live that he will announce his commitment on May 1.

On the West Coast, Stromer did not set an exact date, but the Notre Dame Catholic High School (CA) shooting guard said that he should be committing to a university within the next three weeks, according to a 247Sports article from April 14.

The lengthy wings are back-to-back in recruiting rankings as well. The 247 Composite has Griffith and Stromer as four-star prospects, ranking the Taft guard as the No. 8 overall shooting guard and the Notre Dame guard as the No. 7 player at the position. There are only four spots between them nationally as well, with Griffith being ranked No. 42 overall and Stromer just ahead of his fellow class of 2023 recruit at No. 38.

After cutting down their final options to five and four, respectively, Griffith and Stromer have both spoken about their finalists and what they most like about them, including their connection with UCLA.

"Mick Cronin was recruiting me at Cincinnati,” Griffith told 247Sports. “So he has been recruiting me for a while now and he keeps on recruiting me now that he is in Westwood."

Stromer, on the other hand, has a much different reason for considering the Bruins.

“It’s close to home, it’s a dream of mine and the coaching staff is amazing and I love everything about it,” Stromer told 247Sports.

The recruitment of the class of 2023 guards is a full circle journey for coach Mick Cronin. His pursuit of Griffith dates back to the 50-year-old’s final years at Cincinnati, while Stromer is a newer recruit — located in a Southern California area Cronin now heavily recruits since coming to Westwood.

Cronin was in Orlando at the Nike EYBL showcase at the start of April, watching Stromer and several other recruits compete. Griffith, meanwhile, was taking part in the Adidas 3SSB camp in Indianapolis, where assistant coach Rod Palmer was there to observe and connect.

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