The past college basketball season was a wild ride for the UCLA Bruins. The Bruins became a national story and a powerful television draw due to the presence of point guard Lonzo Ball, the kid with the uncanny court vision, the unorthodox shooting stroke on his jump shot, and the father named LaVar Ball, who never met a microphone or a TV camera he didn’t like. UCLA went through some ups and downs, especially when it became inattentive on defense for a month in the middle of the Pac-12 season, but the offense was so outrageously good that the Bruins were able to work past their flaws. When they played merely modest defense – nothing great, but nothing terrible – they were very hard to beat.
What is the outlook for this next UCLA season? Coach Steve Alford has a highly challenging task to deal with.
Offseason Changes
The biggest change is obvious. Lonzo Ball made so many things happen for UCLA. He made the offense come alive with his passing, ballhandling, and instincts. He was a devastating offensive player who had enough of a jump shot to force defenses to come out to the perimeter and challenge him. Whenever that happened, he had the advantage because of his quick first step and his ability to find the right man at the right time whenever defenders collapsed on him or crowded him. Now UCLA has to adjust to life without him, and that will be a longer-term process rather than an immediate adjustment.
Ball wasn’t the only important Bruin to leave for the NBA. Frontcourt anchor T.J. Leaf is gone . He was a solid and dependable scorer who preserved floor balance and enabled Ball to work with fewer double-teams against him. Bryce Alford was the sniper, the three-point shooting specialist who had been a point guard in previous seasons but was always better as a pure shooter in the two-guard spot. Playing in his natural role enabled Alford to thrive, and accordingly make the UCLA offense that much harder to contain. The Bruins will miss Alford’s shooting this year.
Will Succeed If…
Aaron Holiday and Jaylen Hands are excellent. Holiday will be turned to as the man expected to lead the scoring charge for this team, at least on the perimeter. Versatile and under control, Holiday knows how to exploit a defense. He has been in the UCLA system for a few years and saw how it operated last year under Lonzo Ball. He should be able to be very effective at the offensive end of the floor this upcoming season. If he maxes out, that’s one big piece of a successful UCLA season.
The other piece is Hands, who might not be able to do everything Ball did, but who is especially quick even if he might not be a masterful distributor and facilitator of the offense. Being very fast makes up for a lot of flaws on offense. If Hands’ speed is potent enough to rattle opposing defenses, UCLA will have enough resources to be very explosive once again.
Won’t Succeed If…
The roster can’t get balanced production, especially in the frontcourt. Thomas Welsh is a great mid-range jump shooter, and he figures to be very good, but beyond him and Holiday, UCLA doesn’t have nearly as many proven offensive players as it did a year ago, and the team’s overall defensive composition is in question. Everyone has to defend well for this team to be good. Everyone has to make small contributions at important times so that the loss of Ball can be adequately dealt with. If this is not a deep team and bench guys don’t carry their share of the load, this season will be a disappointment.
Roster
Alex Olesinski
Cody Riley
Aaron Holiday
Jaylen Hands
Chris Smith
Isaac Wulff
Kris Wilkes
Gyorgy Goloman
LiAngelo Ball
Alec Wulff
Armani Dodson
Prince Ali
Jalen Hill
Joseph Wallace
Ikenna Okwarabizie
Thomas Welsh
Schedule & Outlook
The Bruins will have a very hard time getting past Arizona and USC for the top two in the Pac-12, but if they can finish third and get a No. 5 or No. 6 seed in the NCAA Tournament, they will have done well under the circumstances. UCLA might struggle early but must stay the course and realize that life after Lonzo will be an adjustment.
The 2018 March Madness futures are out. There has been plenty of news to keep up with in the offseason but keep an eye on the betting lines as they move around at Diamond Sportsbook! Get the latest college basketball betting lines right here.
