Ilane Fibleuil is as impressive of an international prospect as you will find at this point in the process, and he finally came to a decision about his future Thursday. The 6-foot-6 French guard will make the move to Los Angeles where he will suit up for UCLA after announcing his commitment to the Bruins over Gonzaga and an opportunity with the NBA G League Ignite squad.
The Thursday announcement from the 2023 prospect doesn't come as a major surprise as UCLA is one of the schools he has focused on throughout the process. Fibleuil made a visit to Westwood over the winter around the same time he had an opportunity to visit Gonzaga.
Under Mick Cronin, the Bruins have started to become more involved in international recruiting and Fibleuil is one of the prominent players from overseas to join the team in that time.
He shined at the FIBA U17 World Cup in Spain last summer ending that tournament averaging 12.6 points to go with 5.9 rebounds. He also had an opportunity to play on US soil back in February as part of the Basketball Without Borders event in Salt Lake City.
Cronin and his staff are again having to retool the roster after already seeing several departures from key players this offseason. Tyger Campbell and Jaime Jaquez Jr. are the two most notable pieces to opt for a chance at the NBA over staying in Westwood for another season leaving noteworthy holes on the team.
UCLA has started to address those departures by adding 6-foot-7 Utah transfer Lazar Stefanovic over the weekend through the transfer portal in addition to now Fibleuil, who had been widely considered one of the top available international prospects in the class.
The Bruins now have a four-man recruiting class for 2023 having already previously signed frontcourt players Devin Williams and Brandon Williams plus Las Vegas guard Sebastian Mack, who is rated as the 39th-best prospect in the cycle.
The spring signing period opened Wednesday and will run through May 17 with UCLA still expected to add more players to its roster ahead by the summer.
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