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UCLA Basketball: A Possible 7-Man Exile Would Be Very Bad

By Mike Regalado

Mar 24, 2017; Memphis, TN, USA; UCLA Bruins head coach Steve Alford watches the action against the Kentucky Wildcats in the second half during the semifinals of the South Regional of the 2017 NCAA Tournament at FedExForum. Mandatory Credit: Nelson Chenault-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 24, 2017; Memphis, TN, USA; UCLA Bruins head coach Steve Alford watches the action against the Kentucky Wildcats in the second half during the semifinals of the South Regional of the 2017 NCAA Tournament at FedExForum. Mandatory Credit: Nelson Chenault-USA TODAY Sports /
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The UCLA Basketball team could possibly lose their top seven scorers from last season which, shocker, will not be good for next season.

It goes without saying that losing all five of your starters does not help consistency for the following season. But to add two more players in addition, is just soul-crushing. That is what the UCLA Basketball team is currently faced with.

It was announced on Monday that Aaron Holiday and Thomas Welsh will test out the NBA Draft and if they go, they could be the sixth and seventh players to leave UCLA from last season.

The Bruins’ entire freshman class of Lonzo Ball, TJ Leaf and Ike Anigbogu have already declared for the draft. Throw in graduating seniors Bryce Alford and Isaac Hamilton (it is not known if they will test the draft waters) and you have seven players that will have to be replaced for next season.

Related Story: Anigbogu to Declare for the NBA Draft

You may set off the alarms now.

It is never a dull moment with the UCLA Basketball team. A year ago, banners calling for Head Coach Steve Alford to be fired were flying over the campus of UCLA.

Then this past season you had the high flying big baller Bruins taking the country by storm, complete with a loud-mouth assault chopper dad. Now the Bruins have to account for possibly losing seven players.

Seven. Freaking. Players. This may be drama, but at UCLA, these are The Days of Our Lives.

So what if UCLA loses their top seven scorers? They still have Gyorgy Goloman, Alex Olesinki, Prince Ali and Ikenna Okwarabizie, of which only GG played significant minutes. You see the problem there, right?

But there is some relief as they also have 5* PG Jaylen Hands, 5* SF Kris Wilkes, 4* PF Cody Riley, 4* C Jalen Hill, 3* SF LiAngelo Ball and 3* SF Chris Smith who will be coming to Westwood next season.

Though there will be good coming from all of this, consistency from last season will be completely shot.

Alford basically has another restructuring project on his hands. Even if Anigbogu, Welsh and Holiday decided to return to UCLA, they already lose four starters from last season. But if all seven players leave, then UCLA will lose 88.3 of the team’s 89.8 points per game from last season.

Not much to plan next season on with that.

Depth, which was not an issue two weeks ago, is now becoming a problem, but not as much as consistency. Though the style of UCLA Basketball could stay the same, Alford has to figure out where to place all these new pieces.

Next: Aaron Holiday and Thomas Welsh to Enter the NBA Draft

Everything he taught last year, will have to be reiterated to an entirely new lineup. The good thing is that the Bruins should have no problem with offense, but things like defense and game planning is going to need to be developed from the ground up. Good luck with that.