4-star power forward Devin Williams announces top 5 schools

Four-star prospect Devin Williams out of Corona (Calif.) Centennial tells On3 he’s down to five schools: UCLA, USC, Texas Tech, Arizona, and UNLV.

The 6-foot-10 power forward is ranked as the No. 80 overall prospect in the 2023 class, according to the On3 Consensus, a complete and equally weighted industry-generated average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies.

Williams, a California native, also received scholarship offers from Washington, Nevada, California, San Diego State, Xavier, LMU, and others.

As of this writing, Williams has one official visit scheduled, for USC on June 9th. He’s also working on dates with UCLA and UNLV.

Williams talks finalists

UCLA: “Great coaching staff over there. Coach (Mick) Cronin keeps it a hundred with you and that’s what I love about him. It’s out in Westwood in Los Angeles which is a great location. The team is great every year and they’re back on that winning run like they used to be. Honestly, UCLA is a great experience and a great environment overall.

USC: “It’s on the other side of Los Angeles. I’m very, very close with the coaching staff. We clicked right away when they started recruiting me. Love all those dudes over there for sure. They do a great job with their big men and the main goal is to get to the NBA and they do a pretty good job of doing that. They also make the tournament almost every year.

Texas Tech: “Coach Mark Adams is a really, really good coach over there. I love Texas Tech’s playstyle. They play fast, play extremely hard. They’ve made some really good runs over the last few years. I just love their style and coaching staff.

Arizona: “Coach (Tommy) Lloyd is an extremely good coach, especially for being new. Coach (Jack) Murphy has been recruiting me the hardest from over there for sure. They develop their bigs extremely, extremely well. They also had a good run this year in the tournament; Pac-12 champs. I love the coaches over there and the guys over there. Everyone is really good people and they’re looking to win a lot. I love everything about them.

UNLV: “Coach (Kevin) Kruger is a really good coach at UNLV. Coach (Carlin) Hartman was recruiting me over there before he went to the University of Florida. I’ve heard really good things about their program and I love the way they play. They’re going to get back to that winning playstyle and I obviously want to help with that.”

It should be noted that Arizona is only interested in Williams, and has not yet offered.

My take

Williams currently only has one official visit set to USC. There is no denying the connection that Williams’ AAU program, Compton Magic has to the schools out west.

List of recent former Compton Magic players, and their current/former schools:

Jaylen Clark (UCLA)
Evan, Isaiah Mobley (USC)
Johnny Juzang (UCLA, previously Kentucky)
Onyeka Okongwu (USC)
Dalen Terry (Arizona)
Jules Bernard (UCLA)

However, what stands out immediately is the success that former Compton Magic bigs have had at USC. This might be too much for Williams to pass up.

Something else to consider, USC offered Williams nearly a year ago. UCLA on the other hand, offered just this week. As mentioned previously, Arizona has yet to offer, and I really just don’t see it at Texas Tech and UNLV.