Freshman guard Kobe Paras withdraws from UCLA
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The Kobe Paras era at UCLA appears to have ended before it began.
The incoming freshman guard, who was conditionally admitted to UCLA, has withdrawn from the university after failing to meet certain academic requirements, the school announced Wednesday.
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John Montgomery, principal at Los Angeles Cathedral High, where Paras recently graduated, said the standout basketball player was an honors student who had met all of his NCAA requirements, but added, “There was an SAT scoring issue.”
Cathedral boys’ basketball Coach William Middlebrooks said Paras would play at another Division I university.
“They made their decision,” Middlebrooks said of UCLA. “He’ll be wearing another uniform.”
The 6-foot-6 Paras, a native of the Philippines, already had established an international reputation as a phenomenal dunker after unleashing one in a Nike exhibition in 2013 with NBA superstar LeBron James on the court. He accepted a scholarship from UCLA in October 2014 when he was 15.
Paras was named after the Lakers’ Kobe Bryant and was a sensation in his native country, with the Philippines Daily Inquirer and the Manila Times regularly detailing the success of his youth teams and his recent high school graduation.
Times staff writer Eric Sondheimer contributed to this report.
Twitter: @latbbolch
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