NCAA Basketball: Analyzing top 4 teams for 2021 five-star center Nathan Bittle

UCLA Bruins

UCLA just put themselves in the national conversation in the class of 2021, snagging a commitment from versatile forward Peyton Watson last week.

Could Bittle be the next top-20 prospect to follow? The Bruins certainly have room for him on the roster, without any big men joining them in the class of 2020 (only guard Jaylen Clark and Kentucky transfer forward Johnny Juzang are on the docket for now) and Watson and combo guard Will McClendon in 2021.

Bittle would add size to a pair of guard-heavy incoming classes, and would immediately make them major players in the crowded, but not overly top-heavy, PAC-12.

UCLA’s recent bad luck with big men is notable here, however, including Shareef O’Neal (transferred) and Moses Brown (left after one year).

The Bruins have established themselves as a guard-heavy team, and while I think coach Mick Cronin could find a way to utilize Bittle in effective ways, it’s hard to imagine this team being a better fit than any of the other three listed, at least presently.

Still, it’s hard to ignore the school that produced Bill Walton, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and, more recently, Kevin Love, and the allure of living in Los Angeles and being the star player for the most iconic college basketball program in history will certainly make this a tough decision on Bittle.