Brandon Miller to Alabama & UCLA gets Adem Bona

On Monday, two highly coveted recruits in the 2022 class made their commitments of where they’ll be going to play college basketball. First, Brandon Miller. Miller, a five-star player who is a top 15 player in the class of 2022, committed to the Alabama Crimson Tide. Miller chose Alabama over schools such as Kansas, Tennessee State and two professional options: G League Ignite and the NBL in Australia.

While the professional route was enticing for Miller, Alabama had long been considered the favorite if he opted for college. A versatile 6-foot-8 talent, Miller is ranked No. 13 in the ESPN 100 for 2022. He's the No. 4 small forward in the class who suited up for the Brad Beal Elite grassroots program on the Nike EYBL circuit last summer, averaging 12.9 points, 8.9 rebounds and 2.3 assists in 15 games. One of his best single-game performances was putting up 24 points and 10 rebounds while also making a pair of 3-pointers in the first round of the playoffs. He had six double-doubles in 15 games.

Miller was Alabama’s second recruit, as they signed No.1 ranked point guard, Jaden Bradley, and also got a commitment from four-star center Noah Clowney, who is No.66 ranked in the 2022 class and committed later on that day.

Another big time recruit made his college choice Monday, and that was 6-foot-9 five-star center, Adem Bona, who is ranked No. 17 in the ESPN 100 for the 2022 class and is the No.4 center in the country. Bona had a hotly contested recruitment over the past few months, taking visits to several schools, but ultimately narrowing things down to UCLA and Kentucky. The Wildcats were the perceived leader coming out of the summer, prioritizing now Duke commit Dereck Lively, then turning their attention to Bona.

UCLA made up ground with the highly coveted center from Nigeria by that point and ultimately got a commitment from him. Bona played five games for Team WhyNot on the Nike EYBL circuit last summer, averaging 11.4 points, 11.2 rebounds and 3.4 blocks. He has represented Turkey on the international scene the past few years, including at the FIBA U19 World Championships, where he averaged 8.4 points, 3.9 rebounds and 1.9 blocks in just over 17 minutes per game.

ESPN recruiting analyst Adam Finkelstein was impressed by Bona’s physical gifts, stating "Bona is probably the most physically gifted big man in high school basketball, He has great length, exceptional speed, good mobility and is quick off his feet around the rim. His offense is still a work in progress, but he's already elite defensively, because he's an exceptional rim protector who can also move his feet away from the basket guarding pick-and-roll."

Bona gives UCLA coach Mike Cronin his second five-star commit in the class of 2022, joining elite prospect Amari Bailey (No.4) and ESPN 100 point guard Dylan Andrews (No.51) in the Bruins' wheelhouse thus far.