KOBE Paras will no longer be a Bruin.
The promising Filipino cager was forced to withdraw from University of California, Los Angeles after reportedly failing to meet academic requirements of the school.
UCLA, which is a part of the US NCAA Division I, released a statement stating that the versatile 6’6” high-flyer was “withdrawn from the university due to academic conditions not being met.”
A report from the Los Angeles Times indicated that an “SAT scoring issue” might have been the problem for Paras, though UCLA didn’t divulge further details.
This is a big setback for Paras, who is being groomed as one of the most intriguing prospects with a lot of upside.
As of now, Paras has still yet to release a statement on his plans moving forward.
He can still seek recruitment, though, from other NCAA schools in the US, while also having the option to go back home in the Philippines and resume his luck here locally.
Paras was recruited by UCLA, one of the biggest basketball programs in the US, having produced the likes of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Reggie Miller, Russell Westbrook and Kevin Love, among others, as early as 2014 in his junior year playing for the Los Angeles Cathedral High School due to his complete game and athleticism.
He has spent the last two years in Los Angeles to pursue his basketball career there after growing up in the Philippines and playing for La Salle Greenhills.