In losing five of their top eight scorers from a year ago, three of which were first round picks in the NBA Draft, the UCLA Bruins have a very young though talented squad. Steve Alford faces the challenge of blending the new pieces together in trying to keep UCLA one of the elite teams in the Pac-12.
UCLA Bruins
Last Season: 2nd, 12-6 in Pac-10, 28-9 overall
Predicted Pac-12 Finish: 4th
Projected Depth Chart
C: Tony Parker (Jr)/Thomas Welsh (Fr)/Gyorgy Goloman (Fr)
PF: Kevon Looney (Fr)/Wannah Bail (So)
G/F: Norman Powell (Sr)/Noah Allen (Fr)
SG: Isaac Hamilton (Fr)/Kory Alford (Jr)
PG: Bryce Alford (So)
Gone: G/F-Kyle Anderson, G/F-Jordan Adams, PF-Travis Wear, PF-David Wear, G-Zach LaVine
2014-2015 Outlook:
Normal Powell is the lone senior on the roster and after being a role player his first three years with the Bruins, the explosive wing needs to take on the mentality of being a go-to scorer. He will have help on the wing with former UTEP commit Isaac Hamilton. The 6-4 shooting guard was forced to sit out last season but is a former McDonald’s All-American who brings versatility to the backcourt.
The coach’s son, Bryce Alford steps into the starting point guard spot since expected Colorado State transfer, Jon Octeus was denied acceptance into the university. Alford is more of a shooter/scorer than being a true distributor which leaves the UCLA Bruins without a true point guard. In fact, don’t be surprised to see Hamilton spending a lot of time initiating the offense instead of Bryce Alford. Guard depth will be a major concern for the Bruins since freshman wing Noah Allen and the other Alford, Kory are the only other options.
Steve Alford will have more options up-front with the wide bodied, Tony Parker anchoring the middle. Parker has struggled to find his role with the Bruins but is a capable low post scorer who should get more opportunities to operate on the block this season. McDonald’s All-American, Kevon Looney should starting next to Parker. Looney is a crazy athlete and one of the best rebounders in the 2014 class.
Seven-footer Thomas Welsh is another McDonald’s All-American who should play a significant role off the bench. Seldom-used Wannah Bail and Gyorgy Goloman add options off the bench. Freshman Jonah Bolden was supposed to provide even more depth inside but he was ruled a partial qualifier by the NCAA and is ineligible to play this season.
Having finished first and second in the Pac-12 regular season standings the past two seasons, the UCLA Bruins should take a small step backwards.
With only one senior on the roster, it should only be a short hiccup for Steve Alford as he has already landed commitments from top 100 recruits Prince Ali and Aaron Holiday for his 2015 class meaning the program appears to be in great shape for the future.
Key Non-Conference Games:
11/23 vs. Long Beach State
11/26 vs. Oklahoma (Battle 4 Atlantis)
11/27 vs. North Carolina/Butler (Battle 4 Atlantis)
11/29 vs. Wisconsin/UAB/Florida/Georgetown (Battle 4 Atlantis)
12/13 vs. Gonzaga
12/20 vs. Kentucky (in Chicago)
12/28 at Alabama
OTHER PAC-12 PREVIEWS:
David Kay is a senior feature NBA Draft, NBA, and college basketball writer for the Sports Bank. He also heads up the NBA and college basketball material at Walter Football.com and is a former contributor at The Washington Times Communities. David has appeared on numerous national radio programs spanning from Cleveland to New Orleans to Milwaukee to Honolulu. He also had the most accurate 2011 NBA Mock Draft and the most accurate 2012 NBA Mock Draft on the internet (Yup, repeat champ… #humblebrag), and finished with the second most accurate 2013 NBA Mock Draft (nearly a three-peat.) You can follow him on Twitter at David_Kmiecik.
