UCLA moves on junior wing

Junior wing Kobe Paras is a big deal back home in the Philippines. Here in the United States, he is still relatively unknown. UCLA decided they had seen enough to offer him a scholarship earlier this week and now he's a Bruin.

A 6-foot-5 wing at Los Angeles (Calif.) Cathedral, Paras arrived in Los Angeles last year. He has yet to play a high school game but Steve Alford and the Bruins fell in love with his athleticism and scoring ability in workouts and his reputation has been growing quickly thanks to some strong fall league performances.

Under the coaching of Will Middlebrooks, Cathedral Prep has been growing in stature and Paras will run with the Compton Magic next spring and summer. So, sooner or later people were going to find out about him which made him a priority the Bruins wanted to get done early.

"Kobe Paras committed to UCLA this morning," Compton Magic program director Etop Udo-Ema told Rivals.com Saturday morning. "He is a super athletic national sleeper with a big time motor."

At this point, there aren't many in the scouting industry who are overly familiar with Paras game and he has yet to be evaluated by Rivals.com. Sources out West have told Rivals that Paras specializes in attacking the rim and that he is a volume scorer. He is considered to be more streaky than pure with his jumper and he has a frame that will easily carry more weight.

The second player to commit to UCLA from the class of 2016, Paras joins somebody who is a very well known commodity. Point guard Lonzo Ball from Chino Hills (Calif.) High committed to the Bruins during his sophomore year and is a five-star prospect who currently ranks No. 10 nationally in the junior class.