ANDREW NELLES, THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
LOS ANGELES – If you believe the Internet chatter and the back-alley whispering and all else that recruiting has become in this age of transparency, then you probably never expected Kevon Looney to be sitting here, reclining in a desk chair in a Morgan Center office, thousands of miles from the shores of Lake Michigan, where he became one of the best high school basketball players Wisconsin had ever seen.
If you believe all that, you probably would’ve placed that impossible-to-miss 7-foot-3 wingspan — sprouting out this afternoon from underneath a retro Milwaukee Brewers tank top — at Duke or Florida or Tennessee or even Wisconsin. All of them seemed to be ahead of the Bruins for the five-star player when Steve Alford and his staff were hired.
Former coach Ben Howland had given Looney a “courtesy offer,” but followed it with radio silence. Ahead of Looney’s decision last Halloween, none of the 33 recruiting analysts who took part in
247Sports.com’s Crystal Ball predictions predicted he’d select UCLA — a rarity in the increasingly public world of recruiting news.
But analysts weren’t alone in their uncertainty. The night before his announcement, Looney and his parents, Doug and Victoria, sat down to talk through his decision and cut his list to three or four schools. Once they did, Looney asked if they wanted to know his choice. They declined. Even they wanted to be surprised.
David Grace watched Looney first as an assistant at Oregon State, and when he was hired as Alford’s lead recruiter before last season, he immediately became the point-man on the Milwaukee forward. No school, aside from maybe Michigan State, was more persistent in his recruitment from that point on, Looney says.
Grace says he could sense how much Looney loved Los Angeles, after his official visit two weeks before the decision. They took the family to the Santa Monica Pier and all of them marveled at the ocean. He says he felt good about UCLA’s chances. He might’ve been the only one.
So when Looney pulled a black box out from under a table in the Hamilton High gym and clicked open the locks, he held all the cards — and the balance of three teams and conference races — in his hands, one of the rare major recruits to go into his decision without so much as another soul knowing for sure what he’d do.
Looney flashed a toothy grin as the box closed and he fitted a UCLA hat over his flat top. His mother squealed with joy. His father was more calm, patting him on the back proudly. Two cheerleaders holding a crate paper UCLA logo stepped forward.
For Alford and his staff, the news came at the perfect time. They’d already missed on three point guard targets. Shortly after, sharpshooting Indiana wing Trevon Bluiett rescinded his commitment. For a bit, things looked bleak. Looney’s commitment changed all of that.
“You get that first pop, and it goes from there,” Grace says. “Kevon led the charge. He was a trailblazer.”
The makings of that monumental decision started long before that, on outdoor courts in Milwaukee, where a young Kevon would watch his older brother, Kevin, play pickup. Kevin, who’s six years older, loved the
Lakers and Kobe Bryant. Soon, his younger brother was a fan, too, watching tape of Bryant by himself, and mimicking the moves.
It’s part of what makes Looney such an effective weapon at 6-foot-9, 220 pounds. He’s an elite rebounder — 13 per game as a high school senior — and rim protector — eight blocks per game. But he’s most comfortable on the wing, handling the ball, coming off screens, and slashing into the paint. As the best player on his team in high school, Looney actually played mostly point guard, just because he happened to be the tallest and the best passer.
His unique skill set seems to be a perfect fit for Alford’s motion offense, filling the roster’s versatility quota and allowing UCLA to go with big or small lineups, with him and fellow freshman Jonah Bolden capable of playing the 3 or 4. Because of their ball skills, Grace and Alford have taken to calling Looney and fellow freshman Jonah Bolden “our big guards.”
“They told me I could show my versatility,” Looney said, “that I’d be able to handle the ball some, that I could rebound, I could play inside-outside. I saw it last year with Alford and his players. Kyle (Anderson) played inside-outside. Zach (LaVine) had a lot of freedom on the wing.”
Alford didn’t, however, guarantee Looney any sort of featured role as a freshman — only an opportunity to play in an offense that fit him like a glove. Others had made promises, but the family respected that Alford would make Looney earn his keep. It was part of why they trusted him more than any of the other coaches. They didn’t want anything guaranteed for their son, who they’d always taught to relentlessly make and reach for new goals.
Right now, that focus is on improving Looney’s outside jumper in anticipation of a bevy of catch-and-shoot opportunities this season. That means making at least 200 shots per day. Averaging a double-double, he says, definitely isn’t out of the question.
“I’m not sure I can dominate yet,” Looney said. “If I continue to work on my shooting and get more consistent, I could make a huge impact.”
One could argue, after his commitment shifted the narrative of Alford’s first year on the recruiting trail, that he already has. His arrival in Westwood gave Alford a huge recruiting victory and UCLA a top-flight talent to build around in wake of losing five of its top six playmakers.
“He’s a freshman,” Grace said, “but he has the ability to not be here very long.”
Some early mock drafts already have Looney as a potential late lottery pick next year. The family has discussed his NBA future in passing, but Doug usually tries to steer those conversations in a different direction.
Back at the Morgan Center, Looney shakes off a question about his future, insisting he’s living only in the moment. According to a UCLA athletic department spokesperson, who parsed through rosters dating to the 1956-57 season, Looney is the first Bruin basketball player to come from Wisconsin, and he’s still soaking that in. He gestures out the window at a palm tree, shakes his head in mock awe, and smiles.
“People at home, they always talk, ‘You could do this!’” Looney says. “I don’t really get into that. I don’t think about the future or being one-and-done. I’m thinking about now and about being here. I’ve been waiting a long time to play college basketball and make the tournament and do big things. And now, I’m finally here.”
