Go Joe Bruin
Fansided

UCLA Basketball: Is the 2018-19 Pac-12 season UCLA’s for the taking?

By Mike Regalado

MEMPHIS, TN - MARCH 24: Head coach Steve Alford of the UCLA Bruins looks on in the first half against the Kentucky Wildcats during the 2017 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament South Regional at FedExForum on March 24, 2017 in Memphis, Tennessee. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)
MEMPHIS, TN - MARCH 24: Head coach Steve Alford of the UCLA Bruins looks on in the first half against the Kentucky Wildcats during the 2017 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament South Regional at FedExForum on March 24, 2017 in Memphis, Tennessee. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
2 of 3
Next

Is the 2018-19 Pac-12 season UCLA’s for the taking? (cont.)

First let’s consider the that the top two teams in the conference this past season, Arizona and USC, are going to have their rosters gutted due to graduation and players leaving for the draft.

Arizona has it the worst among all Pac-12 teams as they are expected to lose Deandre Ayton, Allonzo Trier, Parker Jackson-Cartwright, Dusan Ristic and Rawle Alkins. USC, though not as bad, loses Jordan McLaughlin, Chimezie Metu and Elijah Stewart.

When it comes to in-coming recruiting classes, USC has some help coming in with the #15 recruiting class, though the inexperienced roster could set them back. It is a lot worse for Arizona. Because of the situation with the FBI, they have been left with zero commitments for next season.

Zero. Commitments.

Top 50 Pac-12 Recruiting Classes

  • #2 Oregon (4)
  • #3 UCLA (6)
  • #15 USC (3)
  • #19 Arizona State (3)
  • #31 Stanford (3)
  • #35 Cal (3)
  • #37 Washington (4)
  • #42 Utah (5)

( ) indicates number of commitments

Related Story: Bruns bounced by St. Bonaventure in the play-in game, change needed?

As far as other contendors for the crown, Utah and Oregon are possibly the best candidates, but they will also lose some key players. The Utes lose their top two scorers from this season, Justin Bibbins and David Colette who combined for 28.2 ppg. Oregon could lose both Elijah Brown (graduation) and Troy Brown (NBA Draft). Oregon has a fantastic class coming in, which could help boost their stock and, in this writer’s opinion, could be the biggest threat to UCLA next season.

So with all of this in mind, UCLA should be the preseason favorite going into the 2018-19 season But can they actually win the conference? In his five years at the helm, UCLA basketball head coach Steve Alford has only won on  Pac-12 Tournament Championship, but no regular season championship. It is easy to say that the Bruins should win the regular season just on talent alone, which is what it might actually come down to as Alford has not shown that he has what it takes to make the Bruins elite.