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UCLA Basketball is Overrated According to ESPN

By Mike Regalado

Jan 3, 2016; Pullman, WA, USA; UCLA Bruins guard Bryce Alford (20) and UCLA Bruins guard Isaac Hamilton (10) walks off the court after a game against the Washington State Cougars at Wallis Beasley Performing Arts Coliseum. The Cougars won 85-78. Mandatory Credit: James Snook-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 3, 2016; Pullman, WA, USA; UCLA Bruins guard Bryce Alford (20) and UCLA Bruins guard Isaac Hamilton (10) walks off the court after a game against the Washington State Cougars at Wallis Beasley Performing Arts Coliseum. The Cougars won 85-78. Mandatory Credit: James Snook-USA TODAY Sports /
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According to Jeff Goodman of ESPN, the UCLA Basketball team is one of the more overrated squads in the country.

Ouch. That hurts. With the UCLA Basketball team looking to improve off of last season, it stings when news outlets do not believe the team has what it takes to succeed.

That is the case in regards to Jeff Goodman of ESPN who thinks the Bruins are more hype than content.

After finishing 15-17 last season, ending in 10th place in conference, getting annihilated by USC in the first round of the Pac-12 tournament and missing the NCAA tournament all together, Goodman may have a point.

After the end of the 2015-16 season, UCLA Basketball Head Coach Steve Alford vowed that he would make improvements to the team in a letter he wrote to the Bruin fan base. Alford even pointed out what he needed to work on when he talked with Jon Rothstein on his podcast.

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The Bruins also added some fire power in the form of three stellar freshmen: Lonzo Ball, T.J. Leaf and Ike Anigbogu.

Though the future looks bright, is it enough to say UCLA can have a complete turnaround? We saw a sample of that in August when the Bruins had a three-game tour in Australia. The Bruins went 2-1, with their only loss to an Aussie professional team.

For the most part, they did look like they made improvements, but there were some parts of their game that raised a few questions. Will UCLA improve their defense (or play any at all)? Can Alford make proper adjustments? Will there be improvements with roster management?

This is why Goodman might have a point. He agrees that they have talent, “But this is also a group that went 15-17 overall and finished ahead of only Arizona State and Washington State in the Pac-12 a year ago.”

Next: UCLA Basketball: Predicting the 2016-17 Season

It is hard to imagine a team improving that much in one off-season, but it is not impossible. Though several outlets are pegging the Bruins to be a Top 25 team, nothing seems to be changing Goodman’s mind, “I’m just not sold the Bruins are worthy of top-25 inclusion.”