Looking ahead to the 2016-17 season, Go Joe Bruin predicts next season’s depth chart which will consist of 14 players on the UCLA Basketball team.
With the UCLA Basketball team ending their post-season streak after not qualifying for the NCAA Tournament this past season, they now get to focus on 2016-17.
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The Bruins will return their entire scholarship roster — sans Tony Parker, who is graduating — whilst adding a Top 5 recruiting class consisting of four very skilled players. It will be the deepest team Head Coach Steve Alford will have in his tenure.
Last year, the Bruins had 11 scholarship players, the most Alford had at that point. That increases dramatically next season after hitting the recruiting trail hard the last few years and is now bringing in a more skilled caliber of player.
The only problem is, teams are only allowed 13 players to be on scholarship.
This problem arose before November of 2015, just before 5-star power forward T.J. Leaf had committed to UCLA. With Leaf heading to Westwood, the Bruins brought on their 14th player with only 13 scholarships available.
The solution… pull senior-to-be Bryce Alford‘s scholarship and make him a walk-on, thusly opening up a scholarship for T.J. Leaf. So now that the Bruins have their roster solidified, it is now a matter of how they fit into the depth chart.
Projected 2016-17 UCLA Basketball Depth Chart
Next: The Starters
The Starters
The good thing about this roster is that the Bruins could have up to 10 solid players in the rotation. Though minutes will have to be more divided than they have ever been under Alford, the talent level should be improved.
Unfortunately, problems could arise with exactly what Bruins will be in what lineup.
Though it is a good problem, UCLA will have several players to choose from in any given line-up, but studying the roster management of Alford and addressing certain needs, we could most likely see a starting line-up of Lonzo Ball, Bryce Alford, Isaac Hamilton, T.J. Leaf and Thomas Welsh.
Ball is a fantastic distributor and should raise the level of play for the entire team. He is also a fantastic scorer and can take over a game in a moment’s notice.
With Alford at the 2 and Hamilton at the 3, the back court will have experience and will be very dangerous.
Leaf will be that PF the Bruins have been missing. He is similar to Jonah Bolden in that he can play a “stretch 4”, but has better scoring ability. He can hit shots from almost anywhere on the court as well as drive with the ball down court.
Welsh made significant improvements last season and should raise his game next season. One thing he has to do to become that dominating center the Bruins need is tack on some mass.
Next: The Backups
The Backups
The second line of defense (dare I call it a “platoon”) should consist of Aaron Holiday, Prince Ali, Kobe Paras, Jonah Bolden and Ike Anigbogu.
Holiday showed that he could handle the ball pretty well as a freshman (he was quite possibly the best PG UCLA had, though under used). If roles are clearly defined, he should be a more than reliable back-up to Ball.
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Ali seemed to regress late in the season, but showed he has talent. Both him and Paras (who is a decent shooter) could see time at both the 2 and 3 spots.
With Bolden starting last season, there is a chance he starts next season, but that means he has to work on some facets of his game, specifically being a consistent scorer. Anigbogu will be an interesting player because he is a rim protector and could be the best defensive presence the Bruins have in 2016-17.
Noah Allen, Gyorgy Goloman, Ikenna Okwarabizie and Alex Olesinski all know the system, but need to put in some work in the summer to become a fixture. Allen will be a senior that has not fully developed, though he saw his time increase at the end of last season as Ali’s production went down.
Goloman did not develop into the player Bruin fans booed because he was hampered by an injury that kept him out of the start of the season. Okwarabizie and Olesinski saw very few minutes, though it was apparent their development was not tended to.
Next: The Logjam
The Logjam
What has to be addressed with an overflowing roster is the fact that roles will be defined which will cause other roles to be taken away.
Take Holiday and Bolden for example. Both were starters last season and will most likely have to take a back seat to incoming freshman. Though there will be position battles through next season, certain players will not retain the spots they once had.
There could also be possible transfers because of this, especially with players whose time has been cut, specifically Ali. He was expected to be more of a factor last season, especially as a scorer, but things did not pan out that way and as previously noted, was often passed over by Allen.
Then there is the issue with Bryce Alford. The elephant in the room goes by the name of “Nepotism” as Steve Alford has heavily favored the use of his son in the Bruin’s game plan. Despite taking the most shots of any Bruin player last season (1,160), he only shot .385, which was seventh best among the top eight scorers on the team.
Then there is the issue with Bryce still playing point guard. With Ball and Holiday as two viable PGs, it is hard to imagine Steve Alford taking Bryce out of that role. The issue with that… unrest in the locker room.
Next: Are UCLA Fans Unreasonable?
If UCLA’s head coach continues to mismanage the roster and it creates a divide, we could very well see more lackadaisical basketball as we did at the end of the 2015-16 season.