5-star recruit T.J. Leaf commits to UCLA over Oregon and San Diego State

T.J. Leaf’s recruitment wasn’t open very long. Three months after the five-star forward decommitted from Arizona, Leaf picked the UCLA Bruins over Oregon and San Diego State on Thursday afternoon. He joins point guard Lonzo Ball as the second five-star player and fourth commit overall in the Bruins’ class of 2016.

Leaf, a 6’10 stretch forward out of El Cajon, California, is ranked as the No. 13 player in his class by ESPN. He’s considered to be a tremendously skilled power forward with shooting range out to the three-point line. He and Ball should have UCLA set up to be a power in the Pac-12 one year from now.

Leaf originally committed to Arizona in Nov. of 2014 but bailed this summer after not making Sean Miller’s USA Basketball U19 team. Leaf instead played for Israeli national team in the U18 European Championships, where he averaged 16.1 points and 8.4 rebounds per game.

For more on UCLA, read our feature on how Steve Alford is trying to measure up to ghosts in Westwood.