UCLA Basketball Needs To Work As A Team, Maximize Their Talents And Get Chemistry Going
Individually, several UCLA Bruins have had very good games this year. Though it has been a positive for them, the team has been suffering from a lack of unity. Not since the four games before the Battle 4 Atlantis have the Bruins shown a complete team effort. After that trip to the Bahamas, UCLA has lost chemistry, confidence and a killer instinct.
The Solo Game
Dec 28, 2014; Tuscaloosa, AL, USA; UCLA Bruins guard Bryce Alford (20) shoots around Alabama Crimson Tide forward Jimmie Taylor (10) during the first half at Coleman Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Kelly Lambert-USA TODAY Sports
UCLA has some talent on their team. Unfortunately, it does not seem to be developing, at least to the point were at least one Bruin can take over the game and start to dominate. Even when they do have a player that is having a great game, the rest of the team does not do much to contribute.
Against Gonzaga, Bryce Alford was 5-for-10 from behind the arc and finished with 23 points. Tony Parker had a few big second halves against Alabama and Utah as he finished with 10 and 12 points respectively. Against Colorado, Norman Powell had 22 points while Isaac Hamilton finished with 16.
The problem is, UCLA lost all these games.
If they can get their chemistry together, they can do a fairly decent job. The Bruins hung around against Gonzaga and in the games Alabama and Colorado, the Bruins had made it close, but in those three situations, they do not come together and win as a team.
Team Play
Those were the days way back in November 2014 when UCLA averaged 95.3 points per game, making them among the ten best scoring teams in Division I basketball. Now they are 95th in the nation with 71.9 points per game. The first half of the Kentucky game did not help that stat.
UCLA Bruins
Though they were playing lesser teams in the first four games, UCLA were playing like a team. They did have their deficiencies, but their was hope that they were going to improve. It has not turned out that way, mainly because of slow starts, bad shooting and a vanilla offense. The Bruins have not had the chance to improve.
UCLA needs to get their confidence back. They need to know that each one is there to play as a team and not focus on the individual game. In the L.A. Times article by Zach Helfand, Alford said that both his coaches and teammates tell him to “keep shooting the ball”. Maybe another approach should be taken, like the one he said to Helfand later in the article, “if shots aren’t falling for you as the point guard, you got to get everybody else involved.”
It worked for Arron Afflalo in 2006. The Bruin guard was in a horrible shooting slump mid-season, yet still managed to lead UCLA in scoring with 15.8 points en route to an epic Final Four run that included wins over Gonzaga, Memphis and LSU with an appearance in their first championship game since 1995. It was because of an overall team effort.
Bench Time
Dec 28, 2014; Tuscaloosa, AL, USA; Alabama Crimson Tide guard Levi Randolph (20) shoots around UCLA Bruins center Thomas Welsh (40) during the first half at Coleman Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Kelly Lambert-USA TODAY Sports
Another part of getting the team going is helping the bench improve and produce more. Other than Thomas Welsh, who is only getting 4.0 points per game, there is no other player averaging two points.
The bench is getting decent time, it just seems that they cannot do much with that time. Welsh is on the floor for more than fifteen minutes while Noah Allen adds thirteen. It also does not help that they do not do much, but they are also not getting the ball either.
Welsh is taking four shots per game while Allen and Gyorgy Goloman are not even taking two. If they can get involved in the action and produce more, they will become more confident and able to handle a lot more pressure down the road, especially since the Bruins might need them more entering Pac-12 play. UCLA is down to eight scholarship players, so sooner or later, the bench is going to get more minutes. Let us just hope they can do something when they get that chance.
Simply, it just seems that once they work together, they will be able to play the game they plan for.