The UCLA Basketball team is in the land down under for a three-game tour. With that, we will look at five things that could define the team for the 2016-17 season.
This is weird, basketball before football? Yes indeed as the UCLA Basketball team is already back from their summer vacation and it isn’t even Novemeber yet.
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Starting tomorrow, the Bruins will start their 3-game tour of Australia in preparation for the new season and we get to take an early look at the newest edition of UCLA basketball.
The Bruins start their pre-preseason against Sydney University on August 23 at 7 p.m. Sydney Time, which means it will be on at 2 a.m. Pacific Time. Follow @GoJoeBruinUCLA on twitter for updates.
Since the end of last season where the Bruins were handed a first round loss to USC in the Pac-12 Tournament, finished 15-17 and were 10th in the conference, it has been a mission of Head Coach Steve Alford to change the perception of UCLA Basketball.
From a recruiting standpoint, he looks to have made improvements. This year the Bruins will be joined by Lonzo Ball, TJ Leaf and Ike Anigbogu. They will join a core of veterans which consists of Bryce Alford, Isaac Hamilton, Thomas Welsh, Aaron Holiday and Prince Ali.
So will these additions to the team as well as internal changes help elevate the Bruin’s status? That is what we will find out Tuesday morning. So with that, here are five things will be looking at as the Bruins start there
Next: Lonzo Ball, The Beginning
Lonzo Ball, The Beginning
If you have not heard of Lonzo Ball by now, you might not be paying that close attention to the UCLA Basketball program. According to Scout.com, Ball was the #3 point guard in the country last season as he led Chino Hills High School to an undefeated season. Needless to say, a lot is expected from this young Bruin.
Ball seemingly has the total package. First and foremost he’s a point guard and a very efficient one at that. He’s an excellent passer, has great floor vision and really understands his offense and how his teammates move around in it.
The Bruins have not really had that kind of distributor since Kyle Anderson was in Westwood. For the Bruins to have a player properly run the offense will definitely elevate the overall game.
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Ball is also a fantastic shooter. This summer, Danny Chau of TheRinger.com wrote an article detailing Ball’s journey to Westwood in which he compared Ball to Steph Curry of the Golden State Warriors.
Ball is not afraid to take shots from the outside and when I say outside, I mean way outside. It is not abnormal to see him shoot three or four feet behind the three-point line. The beauty of it is that he is quite accurate.
With those kind of skills leading the Bruins, expect UCLA to have a more potent and dangerous offense. If that’s the case we should see a more cohesive and consistent playing style from the Bruins.
Next: Coaching, A New Chapter?
Coaching, a New Chapter?
After the way last season ended, Bruin fans spoke up about changes that needed to be made with the UCLA basketball program. Their voices did not go unheard as Head Coach Steve Alford wrote a letter to the Bruin fan base stating that the product he put on the floor last season was unacceptable and he vowed to make changes.
If anything, Alford’s comments were sincere. He proved this by returning his contract extension that he received after his first season at UCLA citing that he needed to earn it back.
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So Tuesday morning we are going to get to see what changes have been made, if any. Some of the things that hampered Alford last season was the lack of defense, the lack of in-game changes and a miss use of the roster.
The defense is something we will get into in a little while. As for the in-game changes and roster management, it will be interesting to see how he can get more production from his team. Alford now has the players for every position and situation, so hopefully he can do some damage with them.
Next: The Men Down Low, Down Under
The Men Down Low, Down Under
The UCLA basketball team is stocked with players in the front court. Right now, the Bruins have six scholarship players that are either forwards or centers.
One of the things that was noticeable last season is that the Bruins have talent down low, they just lacked physicality and were unable to dominate down low.
One of the players we hope to continues to improve is junior center Thomas Welsh.
Last year Welsh showed that he could be an offensive threat as he developed a nice mid-range shot. He even had flashes of greatness in the blocking and rebounding categories, but when he would go cold, so would the Bruins. If he can learn to throw his body around, Welsh could be an intimidating force in the Pac-12 Conference.
UCLA will be without forward Jonah Bolden who recently left the program to return to Australia to play professionally. The Bruins will miss his defense and agility, so the rest of the big men are going to have to make up for it somehow.
That should come in the form of freshman Leaf and Anigbogu. Leaf is a pure scorer and seems to have a natural ability to play the power forward spot. Anigbogu is a defensive presence that seems to have a certain fierceness about him. If both these freshmen can be as productive as Bolden, then the Bruins should have a better time down low.
Next: Defense, Clap, Clap
Defense, Clap, Clap
Defense is probably going to be one of the major factors in determining whether UCLA will improve off of last season or not. The Bruins are not completely void of defensive skills and have the ability to shut down teams… when they feel like it.
But that seems to be the problem, getting the players to buy into defense and sticking with it. UCLA did a fine job defensively last year in games where they defeated #1 Kentucky and Gonzaga on the road, so they can do it.
For some reason, that focus on defense seemed to go away during conference season. On top of that, the Bruins are more heavily oriented for offense so to see any kind of change on the defense should be an improvement.
The only thing that could be a problem is trying to get his other players to buy into playing defense. There was more than a handful of occasions where the Bruins played a “matador defense” (letting opponents slide right past them for easy scores). That definitely needs to stop if Alford is dedicated to defense.
Can the Bruins play on-ball defense, box out, take a charge, cut off passing lanes and so on?
The Role of the Son
So what will the role of Bryce Alford be? The last two years he has played point guard for the Bruins and has often seemed ill-fitted for the position. It appears that he has a “shoot-first” mentality rather than a focus on running the offense and looking for his teammates.
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Alford is more suited for the shooting guard position. If the elder Alford wants to truly maximize his son’s potential, then Bryce needs to be developed as a two guard.
The younger Alford is a fantastic shooter and can be very consistent. The only issue last year is that he seemed to do too much. With Ball in the mix to run the offense, Alford will have a chance to improve his own game.
Alford can free himself up, create his own shot and focus on scoring from the outside. If he does that, he could be one of the best shooters in the conference and possibly the nation. Yes, I truly believe this.
So what role will Bryce Alford play this year? That is something we will be looking at Tuesday morning.
Next: Should Don MacLean's Jersey Be Retired?
Go Bruins!