UCLA Basketball: Comparing last year's squad to this year's

UCLA Basketball: Comparing last year’s squad to this year’s

LAS VEGAS, NV - MARCH 09: Head coach Steve Alford of the UCLA Bruins reacts during a quarterfinal game of the Pac-12 Basketball Tournament against the USC Trojans at T-Mobile Arena on March 9, 2017 in Las Vegas, Nevada. UCLA won 76-74. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images) /

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Shooting Guards

Bryce Alford vs. Aaron Holiday/Jaylen Hands

Bryce Alford was a huge part of the Bruins’ success last season. Though he was forced to move over to the 2 spot because of Ball, Alford thrived in the shooting guard role, as that was his strength. Unfortunately, that was pretty much all he did.

LAS VEGAS, NV – MARCH 09: Bryce Alford /

Though Alford is UCLA’s all-time leader in 3-pointers and was the second-highest scorer on the team last season (15.5 ppg), his contributions (or lack thereof) will be overshadowed by the backcourt combo of Holiday and Hands.

With Holiday, you have a scorer, distributor and quite possibly the best defender on the team. Despite coming off the bench, Holiday was the fifth-highest scorer on the Bruins with 12.3 ppg. He was also second on the team behind Ball in both assists (4.4) and steals (1.1).

Hands is also an exceptional scorer, putting up 29.9 ppg at Foothills Christian HS last season. Though he will have to adjust to college, Hands seems to be a bit further along than Alford at this point.

Advantage: Holiday/Hands