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UCLA Basketball: Bruins relying on outside shooting, but will it work in the long run?

By Mike Regalado

SACRAMENTO, CA - MARCH 17: Head coach Steve Alford of the UCLA Bruins reacts against the Kent State Golden Flashes during the first round of the 2017 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at Golden 1 Center on March 17, 2017 in Sacramento, California. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images)
SACRAMENTO, CA - MARCH 17: Head coach Steve Alford of the UCLA Bruins reacts against the Kent State Golden Flashes during the first round of the 2017 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at Golden 1 Center on March 17, 2017 in Sacramento, California. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images) /
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MEMPHIS, TN – MARCH 24: Thomas Welsh
MEMPHIS, TN – MARCH 24: Thomas Welsh /

Bruins relying on outside shooting (cont.)

So there is a give and take to UCLA’s outside shooting. In Pac-12 play, the Bruins seem to have found their groove, but what happens when the shots do not fall?

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The Bruins are 145th in the nation in offensive rebounds. One of the reasons for this (aside from the lack of boxing out) is that their top rebounder, Welsh who grabs 11.1 total rebounds per game (11th in the nation), is one of the Bruins’ best three-point shooters. Alford should not deny Welsh the chances for open threes, but when no one else is under the basket, a lot of missed outside shots fall right into the hands of UCLA’s opponents.

The Bruins’ next best rebounders, Kris Wilkes (5.4 rpg), Gyorgy Goloman (4.7 rpg) and Alex Olesinski (4.3 rpg), are not nearly as effective as Welsh, as you can see from their stats. So therein lies one problem, if Welsh is away from the rim, who else is available to clean up under the basket?

And even if the Bruins are grabbing rebounds, what if the outside shots are just not there? UCLA does not exactly have an inside game to fall back on so what does Alford do at that point? Play more “hero ball” and force isolation and bad shot selection?

There is still a lot of basketball to be played and the Bruins still look as though they are trying to find an identity. Though this plan seems to fit, they cannot rely on it and need to try and evolve their offense. One way to do that is to try and get an inside game going. Truth be told, that would be a lot easier if the Bruins had Jalen Hill and Cody Riley at their disposal (both have been suspended for the season for their involvement in the shoplifting scandal in China back in November).

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If UCLA wants to make it through Pac-12 play, they are going to have to look for other ways to score as teams are going to take notice of the plethora of shots being taken from behind the arc. Still, if the shot is open, UCLA needs to take it.