There are very few times that a high school basketball recruit comes along who has the potential to change the face of a program.
For UCLA, at least in the last 10 years, there are even fewer times that such a recruit shows interest in being a Bruin.
On Tuesday, UCLA had all its stars perfectly aligned when highly sought-after recruit Kevin Love verbally committed to the Bruins in a press conference at Foothill High School in Henderson, Nev.
Love, from Lake Oswego, Ore., was rated the No. 2 recruit in the class of 2007 by Scout.com and chose the Bruins over his second choice, North Carolina.
Last Tuesday, he was just excited to finally make his decision.
“I went over the decision in my head again and again, and in the end, going to UCLA just felt right,” Love said at the press conference. “I will be playing for the best coach in Ben Howland, and you saw what he did with his team this season.”
Love, 6-foot-9, 260 pounds, has been one of the top recruits in the country since he was in middle school, and was considered the jewel of coach Howland’s recruiting class.
Love, who originally said location wasn’t a factor, ended up wanting to stay close to home and be around the people who helped make him the player he is today.
“Luckily, I have always surrounded myself with good people, and they have been there with me every step of the way,” Love said. “My dad, especially, has prepared me with this process, and I wanted to be around my family and friends.”
Love’s dad, Stan Love, is not a bad influence to have – he himself was a basketball player at Oregon and later went on to have a career in the NBA.
Stan Love visited the UCLA campus earlier this summer, and was very impressed not only with the tradition of UCLA basketball, but also the excellence of coach Howland.
“My dad was there with me in all my decisions,” Kevin Love said. “He was very impressed with coach Howland, and his input definitely played a factor in my decision.”
Love, who was planning to make his decision in the fall, will now cut his summer recruiting season short and simply focus on preparing for his senior year of high school.
Love said the decision eventually came down to where he could see himself – either spending a day on the campus of UCLA or on the campus of North Carolina.
After the ABCD basketball camp in New Jersey earlier this month, Love said the right decision for him was going to UCLA.
“With all factors considered, it was just the perfect decision,” Love said. “Coach Howland has talked to me about how I will be used in their system, and I feel like my game fits perfectly with his system.”
Love now becomes the second committed recruit for the Bruins’ class of 2007, as he joins local product Chace Stanback of Fairfax High School.
Now that his recruiting process is over, Love said he will do his own recruiting to get fellow Oregon product and AAU teammate Kyle Singler to join the Bruins.
“I’m in love with teammates, and Kyle and I have a bond that’s hard to get,” Love said. “Trust me, I’m going to try my hardest to get him to come.”
Overall, it was an important day in Henderson, Nev., not only for Kevin Love but coach Howland and the entire UCLA community.
“When I told him, he almost started crying,” Love said. “He felt like he was flying on air.”
“I’m just so happy to be playing for him and the Bruins.”