UCLA Basketball: 5 things we learned from the non-conference schedule

3. The younger players are slowly making progress

Holiday and Welsh have definitely taken over the majority of duties in the nonconference season. They’re the only ones that have been truly consistent. The younger players, although they’ve had several moments to shine on their own, they have tended to fade away in certain games.

Prince Ali was coming off the bench to start until Jaylen Hands injured his foot. Since then he’s been a very reliable two guard that has given the Bruins a lot of offensive production when needed.

As for Hands himself, he has had his freshman moments but for the most part has been a very explosive point guard. It’s been interesting to see how Hands and Holiday could play on the court together, but that was remedied somewhat when Ali stepped in. Now coming off the bench, he is an extra spark the Bruins need when one of their leaders needs a break.

Kris Wilkes is another freshman who has the ability to take over again. If he can become consistent from game to game with his offensive production, then UCLA will have a legitimate weapon going into Pac-12 play.

The thing about the young players is that, basically, they are young. They’ve had the nonconference to adjust to Division I college basketball and now know what is expected of them. So hopefully they can produce what UCLA needs them to against conference foes.