UCLA Basketball: Will the Bruins win the Pac-12 this year?

The UCLA basketball team have a roster full of talent, albeit inexperienced, that could take them far in 2018-19, so does that mean they can win the Pac-12?

Without a senior on the roster and six highly-touted incoming freshmen, the 2018-2019 UCLA basketball team will be young and inexperienced, but nonetheless, they will be a force to be reckoned with both in the Pac-12 and nationally.

You’ve heard that before though, haven’t you? Most years, especially under Steve Alford, it seems as if the Bruins bring in a top-ten nationally ranked recruiting class and have the potential to do something special, but their most recent championship was won all the way back in 1995.

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As Alford enters his fifth season in Westwood, he has yet to advance past the Sweet 16 in the NCAA Tournament, something that appears to be his personal kryptonite. So why will this year be any different?

Despite their youth, this Bruins will be very good; part of the reason for that will be their size. Of the 16 men on their roster, eight of them come in at 6’8” or higher. Included among those eight is the five-star recruit out of Queens, New York, Moses Brown. Brown uses his size well and will be a menace for other Pac-12 teams on both ends of the floor. Combine that with the other big men on the team, and the Bruins will likely overwhelm their opponents at least on the boards, if not in the other facets of the game as well.

Not only is UCLA bringing in a big freshman class, but the impact of their returners, especially sophomores Jaylen Hands and Kris Wilkes, will also help propel the team to a Pac-12 championship. Both initially entered into the NBA draft but did not hire an agent and opted to return back to school after testing the professional waters.

Wilkes, who averaged 13.7 points per game and earned Pac-12 All-Freshman Team honors during his first-year campaign, will look to become an even bigger threat in 2018-2019. With the departure of Aaron Holiday to the NBA, Hands will assume the role of the primary ball handler and will truly become a leader for this squad.

Not only does it appear that the Bruins have improved personnel wise, but it also seems as if the rest of their conference has witnessed a significant drop-off. The reigning Pac-12 Champs, the Arizona Wildcats, lost a large chunk of their previous team, including number one overall NBA draft pick, Deandre Ayton, and it is unlikely they will contend at the top this upcoming season. UCLA will receive its biggest competition from the University of Oregon, who also brought in a star-studded freshman class; however, the Bruins depth and size will be just enough to overcome the Ducks this season.

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With the lack of competition from the rest of the league and a team that appears to be on the rise, UCLA will be crowned Pac-12 Champs by the end of the season. And maybe, just maybe, a national championship will be within their grasp as well.