Published Mar 2, 2023
Marcus Adams Jr. trims list, includes UCLA in top 3
Tracy McDannald  •  BruinBlitz
Staff Writer
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@Tracy_McDannald

A day away from the start of his weekend visit to Westwood, Harbor City (Calif.) Narbonne forward Marcus Adams Jr. announced Thursday that Kansas, Syracuse and UCLA are on his top three list.

The announcement comes a month after the Bruins made the 2024 prospect’s initial top five. Since then, fourth-ranked UCLA has formally offered the 6-foot-8 wing a scholarship and scheduled him for an official visit to campus highlighted by Saturday’s regular-season finale against No. 8 Arizona.

Adams Jr., who told Bruin Blitz in early February that he would reclassify to the 2023 class if he ultimately chose UCLA, has taken previous unofficial visits to watch the Bruins play.

“They’re local. Coach (Rod) Palmer is a good guy, coach (Mick) Cronin is a good guy,” he said in February. “They’ve got a good history, also good academics, as well, you can’t forget that. That’s what I like about UCLA.”

His list of suitors also has picked up since then, including an official visit to Kansas from Feb. 24-26. The Jayhawks were not in his initial top five, which included Mississippi State, Oregon and Texas.

Syracuse, which has been involved in his recruitment the longest, hosted Adams Jr. for an official visit in late January. He was originally scheduled to make another unofficial visit for Saturday’s game against Wake Forest before the UCLA official visit came to fruition.

On the AAU circuit, Adams Jr. plays for the Compton Magic program co-founded by Palmer and Etop Udo-Ema. Compton Magic products include current Bruins guards Jaylen Clark and Dylan Andrews.