With the recent commitment of 4-star power forward Cody Riley, the UCLA Basketball team is looking very deadly heading into the 2017 season. Here is what the scholarship chart and potential depth chart will look like.
Recruiting has been very good for the UCLA Basketball team in the last few season. It has taken a few cycles for the Bruins to get into high gear, but the wait should be worth it.
UCLA just landed a commitment from 4-star PF Cody Riley, propelling the Bruins to the top of the 2017 recruiting class rankings (according to 247 Sports). UCLA also has 5-star PG Jaylen Hands, 4-star C Jalen Hill and 3-star SG LiAngelo Ball committed to playing for the Bruins next season.
That is going to be a great class. Now just imagine how they will look embedded into the roster for next year.
2017 Scholarship Chart
| Scholie Chart | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pos./Year | Senior | Junior | Sophomore | Freshmen |
| PG | Aaron Holiday | Lonzo Ball | Jaylen Hands | |
| SG | Prince Ali | LiAngelo Ball | ||
| SF | Alex Olesinski | |||
| PF | Gyorgy Goloman | T.J. Leaf | Cody Riley | |
| C | Thomas Welsh |
Ikenna Okwarabizie Ike Anigbogu Jalen Hill
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This chart does not take into consideration any early exits. The only players omitted from the 2016-17 season are Isaac Hamilton and Bryce Alford who would have graduated.
Currently, the Bruins are at the 13 scholarship limit, though it is not expected to remain that way by the next off-season. It can be assumed that Lonzo Ball and possibly T.J. Leaf could leave, opening up two scholarships. That would leave the door open for another high-profile high school player to join the team.
Also note that none of the potential freshmen have signed a letter of intent, so it is entirely possible for any one of them to de-commit, but let us hope that is not the case.
Now with a fully loaded roster, let us take a brief look at a possible depth chart.
Projecting the 2017 Depth Chart
Next season UCLA is going to have a ton of talent. Maybe then the Bruins can use my “platooning” idea. Either way, UCLA is going to be deep and have a lot of weapons at their disposal next season.
The only problem with that is deciding what players to play and when.
Keep in mind, this is a way-too-early projection, and once again does not take into consideration any one or two or three-and-dones, so bear with me. As fantastic as it would be to return every player, it will not happen. But if it did, next season’s depth chart could look a lot like this:
| PG | SG | SF | PF | C |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
L. Ball |
Holiday Ali Leaf Welsh Hands Li. Ball Goloman Riley Anigbogu Olesinski Okwarabizie Hill
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The hardest decision would have to be determining who runs the point. Ball and Hands could be the most skilled, so that could push the Bruin’s third PG Holiday over to the 2 spot, which is not bad because he is still a solid offensive threat and the best defender in the back court.
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LiAngelo is a good shooter, and should earn plenty of minutes as a backup shooting guard.
With the Bruins thin at small forward, that could prompt UCLA to use a 3-gaurd lineup, giving Ali the nod on the wing. Leaf and Welsh will keep their starting spots but will also have a lot of backup as the Bruins could be 3-deep at the two big spots.
Anigbogu could develop into the best defensive big man by next season, so he would have a lot of minutes off the bench. Riley and Hill have some developing to do, but for the most part, should be integral pieces to the game plan.
Goloman had a down season in 2015-16 due to an injury, so his time on the court will be heavily determined on how he develops in 2016-17. Pending their own development, Olesinski and Okwarabizie will see minimal backup minutes. That is a lot of talent.
Next: UCLA Basketball Has the Top Recruiting Class for 2017
Needless to say Bruin fans, the next few seasons of UCLA Basketball will be very exciting. Go Bruins!