UCLA Men’s Basketball Signs Abramo Canka

The UCLA men’s basketball program has received a signed grant-in-aid from Abramo Canka, as announced on Wednesday by Mick Cronin, The Michael Price Family UCLA Men’s Head Basketball Coach.

Canka (pronounced ZAHN-kuh), a 6-foot-7, 200-pound guard/forward, grew up in Italy and will enroll at UCLA as a freshman in 2022-23.

“We are really excited to add Abramo to our program this season,” Cronin said. “Playing in Europe, Abramo is a versatile player who can shoot the ball, rebound and pass. At 6-foot-7, we like his size and his defensive ability, especially with his length and athleticism. He is excited to get to Los Angeles and join his UCLA teammates, and we look forward to getting him on the court soon.”

Canka has spent his youth basketball career playing in his native country of Italy. He has also competed within Italy’s national team program at various age levels. Most recently, he competed for Italy in July 2022 at the FIBA Under 20 European Championship, averaging 9.4 points, 2.1 rebounds and 1.4 assists in seven games. Canka shot 45.6 percent from the field at the FIBA U20 Tournament.

In addition, Canka averaged 10.6 points, 7.1 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.9 steals per game at the 2018 FIBA U16 European Championships.

Canka played at the Adidas Next Generation Tournament in Munich, Germany, in January 2020. He secured all-tournament team honors at that tournament in the under-18 division, averaging 16.8 points, 4.3 rebounds, 4.3 assists and 2.3 steals per game. He helped guide his team to the finals in the Next Generation Tournament.

Canka joins an incoming UCLA freshman class that includes guards Dylan Andrews, Amari Bailey and Jack Seidler and forwards Adem Bona and Evan Manjikian.