UCLA Basketball: Steve Alford Is Doing Bryce Alford A Disservice

UCLA Basketball Head Coach Steve Alford is not doing his son, starting guard Bryce Alford, any favors by making him the focal point of the offense and could be hurting his chances to play in the NBA.

It is pretty evident that things are not going well for the UCLA Basketball team at this time. That was exemplified this past Saturday when the Bruins were manhandled by the Oregon Ducks, 86-72, putting them at 3-4 in conference play, with a 9th place standing.

Among the many things going wrong for the Bruins is the way certain players are used by Head Coach Steve Alford, specifically his son, starting guard Bryce Alford. Call it “roster mismanagement”.

Steve Alford has made a point to have Bryce Alford the focus of this team and unfortunately it has not always turned out the way the Alfords have planned.

UCLA Bruins

If the Bruin offense is to be centered around Bryce, then Steve Alford needs to make adjustments to maximizes his son’s skills. Giving him point guard responsibilities as well as expecting him to be the team’s sharp shooter is too much. It is almost puzzling how Coach Alford has recruited help at that position, namely Aaron Holiday (though not a true point guard himself), and yet has Bryce Alford continue to handle multiple tasks on the floor.

Bryce is not a point guard (sorry to disappoint you) and if he makes it to the NBA, teams will not draft and develop him as such. The most ideal spot for the younger Alford, on any NBA team, is at shooting guard.

If Steve Alford cannot see this or does not prepare Bryce for this situation, unfortunately, Bryce will not flourish in the NBA (or worse, not make it at all). More importantly, he will continue to have inconsistent production for the remainder of his days at UCLA.

I wholeheartedly believe that Bryce Alford could be one of the most deadly shooters in the country. If PG duties were handed over to Holiday or even Isaac Hamilton (though he has come into is own with his shot lately), then Bryce would be free to move about the court, avoid contested shots while creating his own, and completely dominate from the outside.

Bryce Alford could easily average 25 points a game.

Right now that is not happening. Though Steve Alford has a myriad of other problems he has to figure out, the first thing that he needs to address is what he is doing with this roster.

He has plenty of talent on this UCLA Basketball team and has a huge class coming in next year. If he continues to have Bryce as the focal point with the plethora of skill coming in next year, things will get awkward very quickly.

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At that point, Steve Alford is not just doing Bryce a disservice, he is doing a disservice to the team. Ultimately, that disservice will be felt by the entire UCLA Basketball fan base, especially if they continue to be mediocre.