UCLA Basketball Signs Kris Wilkes to NLI
November 13, 2016 | Men's Basketball
LOS ANGELES – The UCLA basketball program has received a signed National Letter of Intent from Kris Wilkes, a 6-foot-8 guard at North Central High School in Indianapolis, it was announced today by head coach Steve Alford.
Wilkes will enroll at UCLA in 2017 and begin his freshman season in Westwood next fall.
"Kris is a very skilled big guard," UCLA head coach Steve Alford said. "We needed to add size in our backcourt and Kris gives us that. With Kris, you're talking about a guy who is a potential 2,000-point scorer in high school who could also win Indiana's Mr. Basketball award. He has great length and talent and a high basketball IQ. We're excited to add Kris to our program."
Ranked by Scout.com as the nation's No. 4 power forward in his high school class, Wilkes has also been tabbed as the No. 1 player in the state of Indiana this year by the Indianapolis Star. He was listed as one of six IndyStar Indiana Junior All-Stars in March 2016, as selected through votes from the Indiana Basketball Coaches Association.
Wilkes averaged 22.6 points and 5.6 rebounds per game during his junior season in 2015-16 at North Central High School. In addition, he has been ranked No. 14, nationally, in his high school class by ESPN.com and No. 18 by both Scout.com and Rivals.com.
Wilkes has become the fifth high school senior to sign with the Bruins, set to enroll at UCLA in 2017-18. He joins a group of four players from southern California in next season's incoming class – Li'Angelo Ball, Jaylen Hands, Jalen Hill and Cody Riley.