UCLA Basketball: What can 7’2 center Moses Brown do for you?
The UCLA basketball team received a big gift in this last recruiting class in the shape of 7’2 freshmen center Moses Brown and he brings something to the Bruins that we have not seen since Kevin Love.
The UCLA basketball program has had a long line of talented big men grace its presence. You might have heard of Lew Alcindor, Bill Walton, Willie Naulls, Kevin Love and Don Barksdale, just to name a few. It is something that very few schools can claim, but with that, it is a tradition that is hard to keep up.
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Finding big men is easy, but finding that big man that can make a difference is a challenge that is rivaled by climbing Kilimanjaro. UCLA has been able to consistently bring in a talented players to play center, but it has been a challenge to find one that can affect every single game they play in. That could change this season when 7’2 Moses Brown puts on the blue and gold.
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The last great center to play for the Bruins is undoubtedly Kevin Love. He was quite possibly the best recruit to sign with the Bruins during the Ben Howland era. In his one season at UCLA, he scored 17.6 points and pulled down 10.6 rebounds. He was the essence of a dominating big man and left a legacy in that one year. Can Brown repeat that? It is yet to be seen, but what he does bring to the Bruins is something they have not had in a while.
In the last several years, the Bruins have had the luxury of possessing a center that can knock down baseline jumpers and shots from beyond the arc. Thomas Welsh was a solid piece to head coach Steve Alford’s uptempo, high-volume shooting offense. Not only did Welsh improve his shot every year he was in Westwood but was a double-double machine that made cleaning the glass look easy.
The only thing that Welsh could have improved on was tacking on some mass which could have made him an effective inside presence. The Bruins were a great shooting team, but they did not have a presence in the paint that put fear into the hearts of their opponents. That could change this season with Brown.
Brown is long and tall, which will be an immediate help to the Bruins’ frontcourt presence. Not only will he take up space under the rim, but he is quite the active player and will have his opponents working overtime to try and shut him down. He is lean, has excellent vision and is good ball-handler which allows him to play like a slashing wingman. His height is intimidating and forces opponents to think twice when they enter the paint. Not only that, but with his length, he will have his fair share of blocks this season.
He might not be as stout as Love was when he played in Westwood, or have Welsh’s outside shot, but he plays with enough energy to exhaust whoever goes up against him and that will lead to him dominating the paint. If there was anything UCLA was in desperate need of the last few seasons, it was a presence down low. Alford will be able to utilize Brown’s skills in this way, but he will have backup as Jalen Hill and Cordy Riley will help thicken up the frontcourt. That will be a tall order for UCLA’s opponents to plan for.
The UCLA Basketball All-Time Team. dark. Next
Brown was a huge get for the Bruins and will pay dividends for this uptempo team immediately. With UCLA continuing to shoot from the outside at a high rate, having an athletic 7’2 player to clean up things down low will give this team an added boost. That, my friends, is what Brown can do for the Bruins.