The Bruins in 2011 were trying to make another push towards March. They brought in the Wear twins the season before. But due to transfer rules back then, they had to sit out a year. Now with them being ready to go, they were expected to come in and help the front court. Joshua Smith was looking to build on a good freshman season while getting his weight under control. Another year came the same issues and his numbers dipped from the 2010 season and his minutes dropped as well.
The Bruins possessed a good defense on the season, only giving up 62.5 points per game. That was good for 57th in the nation. They were an average offensive team as they averaged 68.6 points per game, that was middle of the pack ranking 161st in the nation. The season opened up very badly with two bad losses to Loyola Marymount and Middle Tennessee. Showing that the talent level for the Bruins had deteriorated from recent years under Ben Howland.
They did go on a five-game winning streak in the middle of the season. But outside of that, it was a mixed bag of a few wins and a few losses. Never really gaining traction on becoming an elite team. The Wear twins averaged 20.7 points and 12.2 rebounds combined. Their leading scorer proved to be senior guard Lazeric Jones who played well now that he had the opportunities to play more minutes. The team was young and was middle of the pack in most statistical categories.
Lazeric Jones with a 26-point effort for UCLA, but he gets blocked on potential game-winner. Stanford escapes with a 60-59 win.
— Jeff Borzello (@jeffborzello) December 30, 2011
The best player from this team came out to be Norman Powell who didn’t play much on the year as a freshman. He would go on to become a very good NBA player. Averaging over 20 points per game for multiple teams. Still playing in the NBA today alongside former Bruin Jaime Jaquez Jr. in Miami. Howland would get one more season after this with one of the best recruits in the nation on the way in Shabazz Muhammad.