UCLA Basketball Head Coach Steve Alford recently addressed the Bruin fanbase with a letter stating a need for improvement, so we look at a few things that must change in the 2016-17 season for Alford to attain that change.
If you have not heard, UCLA Basketball is in an abysmal state. That has not gone unnoticed by the fans, the UCLA Athletic Department and especially Head Coach Steve Alford.
Since the Bruins finished the season on March 9 in underwhelming fashion when they lost for the third time (by double-digits) to crosstown rival USC in the first round of the Pac-12 Tournament, the volume of Bruin fans calling for the termination of Alford has increased exponentially.
Fans have set-up an on-line petition calling for change, they have been vocal on social media, they have flown planes with banners calling for the termination of Alford (twice), only to be met with an unofficial statement by which Bruin Report Online released stating that Alford would be retained.
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Alford or UCLA Athletic Director Dan Guerrero said nothing until this week about the situation, which came off a little dubious in regards to their words.
Still, in Alford’s letter, which he also gave back a contract extension, he stated that many changes need to be made with the program. Whether he can make those changes is yet to be seen, but to help him out, we have outlined a few areas the UCLA Basketball team should focus on for that change to occur.
Next: Defense
Defense
With the need for improvement on defense, Alford needs to go back to the basics. Before he works on bettering the defense as a whole, Alford has to get every individual back to fundamentals.
Simplicity is the key and Alford has to reteach everything. Keeping hands up, boxing out, playing on the ball, cutting off passing lanes, playing low, rotating, foot work, taking a charge (did any Bruin take a charge this season?), etc.
When individual performance is enhanced, so will the overall performance of the team, but then they have to learn to play defense together.
After the little things are shored up, then Alford needs assimilate those players into their defensive schemes and get others up to speed.
He also needs to stop being predictable. Playing the 2-3 or 3-2 zone defenses are fine, but good coaches have shown to exploit these UCLA defenses.
The Bruins have to mix it up the D, possibly by incorporating several other defensive schemes like the 1-3-1 zones, (sound) man-to-man and box and 1s. Additionally, they need to learn how and when to work the press, that would have helped in games like Utah.
Overall, like so many things with the team, Alford has to keep the defense consistent. They showed early on that they could shut down teams, so it is not a stretch to say they can have a very good defense, it is keeping that energy and effort up that will be the problem.
Next: Rebounding
Rebounding
Rebounding needs to improve. That is all there is to it. UCLA had a +2.5 rebounding margin, which is not bad, but it is not great, especially when you consider the experience and depth the Bruins had.
Senior Tony Parker never turned into the dominating force he was projected to be and 7-foot center Thomas Welsh, though improved, has a few parts of his game he needs to strengthen, primarily his strength.
UCLA Bruins
Welsh could make that jump to a dominating rebounder, but the Bruins still need at least one or two other players to help make an impact with the team.
Alford is also going to have to hyper-advance the development of Gyorgy Goloman, Jonah Bolden, Ikenna Okwarabizie and Alex Olesinski, if the maturity of the in-coming freshmen T.J. Leaf and Ike Anigbogu, is not where it should be. At that point, it becomes a depth issue.
But getting back to basics, the Bruins have to focus on this part of the game. Foot work and positioning need to be harped. Hands up and in position needs to be engrained into their brains. Overall, UCLA needs to do is improve on 39.6 rebounds per game. Not bad, but it could be better.
UCLA will also need to improve on preventing the opposition for cleaning the glass and taking away some of the 37.1 rebounds the Bruins gave up in 2015-16.
Next: Effort, Aggressiveness and Leadership
Effort, Aggressiveness and Leadership
“UCLA, Fight, FIght, Fight!”
Well lately it has just been, “UCLA”. There has been very little fight with the Bruins and that has to do with motivation and leadership. This all comes back to Alford. If he wants to improve this team, he has to up the ante with not just the physical game, but the mental game.
The team as a whole seemed to lack effort toward the end of the season. Whether the players could foresee a lost season or if it was more internal issues that led to the lack of effort, the point is that players were not giving their all.
When this happens, Alford has to make every player accountable, even his own son Bryce Alford. Bryce does too much on the offensive end and when it ends in a turnover or consecutive missed contested shots, he is never disciplined or simply told “don’t do that”.
It is a similar result when he is on defense. Bryce plays five feet off the ball (without putting his hands up) and constantly allows the opposition to blow past him. And if Bryce is caught as the solo defender in a 2-on-1 fast break situation, well, we all know it is essentially a 2-on-0 situation at that point.
Even if Bryce puts effort into a defensive play and it resulted in a foul, I think many Bruin fans would applaud him, not just for attempting defense, but for being aggressive.
And that leads to aggressiveness as a whole. The blame here does not solely rest on Bryce because the rest of the team needs to be held to that standard. If players give up, that is an individual issue, but at the same time, it seems these players have not been taught (or to express) aggressiveness.
I remember very few players taking a charge, there were no hard fouls given (not flagrant, just done with effort), the rebounding game was weak, UCLA was not proficient in stealing (5.5 per game, 6th in the Pac-12) and generally had a lackadaisical approach to the game, especially of they were losing. To improve on aggressiveness, Steve Alford needs to find a way to light a fire under this team and have it stay lit.
If Alford could somehow transfer some of the flames from the hot seat he is sitting on to his players, then maybe we could see some change next season.
Next: Coaching
Coaching
Now this is $10.4 million question… can Alford and his staff improve on coaching this team? The easy answer is, “yes”. I just pointed out several ways for Alford to do that, but I doubt he jumps out of bed each morning to check his email for the latest editions of Go Joe Bruin (now available for subscription!).
Either way, Alford has to have marked improvement over last year and break the downward trend he is taking UCLA Basketball on.
Next year the Bruins are bringing in four stellar recruits, Lonzo Ball, T.J. Leaf, Ike Anigbogu and Kobe Parras. Ball and Leaf alone have the ability to increase the talent value of this team, but Alford cannot rely on a few freshmen to save his job.
Alford has to known the strengths and weaknesses of every one of his players. He has to limit the playing time of EVERY Bruins. He has to affix roles, have his players stick to them and hold them accountable when they do not adhere to the parameter of those roles. Now these are things he should already know when it comes to his players, but when it comes to games, Alford still has a lot of work to do.
Alford has made adjustments in a few games, but not enough to make a huge dent. When he recognized that Welsh and Parker on the floor at the same time was not working, he inserted Jonah Bolden into one of those spots.
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Alford has to have the Bruins prepared for each game and not send the same game plan out for every opponent. “Score more than them” is not as effective as it appears. Alford needs to focus on match-ups and have his players keyed into how they will defeat one opponent to the next. On top of that, he needs to make adjustments in-game. What happens in the first part of the game will change in the second part.
So yes, there is a lot that Alford needs to change if he plans on making UCLA Basketball a contender again and earning that extension back. Alford needs to draw up a plan, set the foundation, put it into action (with practices) and execute, because if he does not, he will not earn that extension, and worse, he will not earn an invite to return as the coach of the Bruins for the 2017-18 season.
Next: Can It Happen?
Yes, But Can It Work?
Let us say that head UCLA Basketball coach Steve Alford is able to do every single item I touched upon in this article. First off, thank you coach for reading Go Joe Bruin. Secondly, if you have a spot open up on your staff, I am available. Moving on…
If Alford can change what we see in the team next season and we witness average to good improvement, then I feel comfortable making the bold prediction that this Bruin team can be a Top 10 performer. You heard it hear first!
Offense will be stellar, defense does just enough to hold off teams and if the Bruins keep their foot on the gas in every game, then this could be a team that goes far.
But let us be real, it does not seem that Alford can make these great improvements, at least not what might be required to keep his job. I do believe the team will be improved from last year, but technically speaking, 9th place in the Pac-12 is an improvement.
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Alford is going to have to tear out the foundation from which he laid three years ago and completely reshape it. He is going to be under a microscope from the start of fall practice, so improvements are going to be needed from Day 1. That all starts now.