UCLA Basketball: Scholarship Count and Needs For The Future
Go Joe Bruin takes a look at the UCLA Basketball team and their scholarship count with recruiting needs for the future.
The Bruins are going to be stacked next season. The UCLA Basketball team has so much talent that they have to take one player off of scholarship took make room for reinforcements.
UPDATE! As of May 10, 2016, Noah Allen is no longer with UCLA Basketball as he is transferring to Hawaii.
For the Bruins, this would normally be a conundrum, but thanks to some shuffling by Head Coach Steve Alford, UCLA will play with 14 players scholarship level players.
Here is how it works…
UCLA loses only one player after last season, former F/C Tony Parker. That leaves UCLA with ten scholarship players.
The recruiting class they are bringing in this summer consists of four players and would normally put the Bruins over the limit, but here is how the Bruins work the system.
| Point Guard | Shooting Guard | Small Forward | Power Forward | Center | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Seniors | — | Bryce Alford* |
Isaac HamiltonNoah Allen^ — —Juniors ———Jonah Bolden
Ikenna OkwarabizieSophomoresAaron HolidayPrince Ali —Alex Olesinski—FreshmenLonzo BallKobe Paras —T.J. LeafIke Anigbogu2017Jaylen HandsLiAngelo Ball ——Jalen Hill2018 —————2019LaMelo Ball — — ——
* – former scholarship player
^ – has transferred from UCLA
Italics – commitments, not yet on roster
For the 2016-17 season, Alford will have his scholarship pulled, which really means nothing. All it does is free up a spot for another player.
Related Story: A Look at UCLA Basketball Commits Jalen Hill and Jaylen Hands
This action was going to be taken after 5-star power forward T.J. Leaf had committed to the Bruins last year. When it became known that he was interested in UCLA (after decommitting from Arizona) Steve Alford moved things around on his roster.
So the Bruins have a full roster for next season, but recruiting is never over. Though the Bruins have three players committed in 2017, Alford has to be aware of any possible transfers or early departures for the NBA.
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Alford needs keep in mind any interested recruits for next year, but his biggest challenge right now is trying to lock down prospects for 2018, which the Bruins have none committed.
The first thing that stands out is the need for a wing player, specifically a small forward. The Bruins recently offered SF Timmy Allen (Desert Ridge HS/Mesa, AZ) which will help will that role if he takes the offer. Currently, UCLA has 26 prospects for 2018, per Bruin Report Online, so there are still a lot of options.
Alford also could do with another power forward and/or center. Depending on an early Leaf departure, the Bruins may need to think big sooner than later.
That is the same concern with Ball and Hands after both of their freshmen years, so Alford needs to constantly be searching for a point guard. They get Lamelo Ball in 2019, but may need one for 2018.
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Additionally, a shooting guard will be needed for 2018 and 2019. Alford has gotten a lot of combo guards in his time at UCLA, but with the influx of role players, specifically point guards, having a pure shooter will benefit the Bruins.