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UCLA Bruins’ Basketball: Patience Is Key For Young Team

By Courtney Sweet

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College basketball season is officially here and the UCLA Bruins waste no time diving right in. With eight games in 15 days, head coach Steve Alford and his young team will be battle tested right away.

Alford used the recent PAC-12 media day as an opportunity to preach the realistic expectations he has for this year’s team. As the season begins he continues to hammer home one word, patience. 

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    • Following the exodus of players due to graduation and the NBA draft, the Bruins enter the season with one lone scholarship senior.

    UCLA is a young team, but with a brutal non-conference schedule, including Gonzaga and Kentucky early on, they will have to grow up fast.

    Having lost four of last year’s five starters, senior guard Norman Powell knows the young Bruins will look to him for leadership, a role he is ready to embrace.

    "…I knew it was going to fall on my shoulders. I was kind of happy. This is what I wanted. I always found myself being a leader growing up. Now it’s my time."

    “Now it’s my time.”-UCLA guard Norman Powell

    Powell’s leadership style may be quiet, but as the team’s leading returning scorer at 11.4 points per game and top defender, he may just show everyone that actions speak louder than words.

    If words are needed though, look for point guard Bryce Alford to be more of a vocal leader. The head coach’s son earned PAC-12 All-Freshman Team honors last year, preparing him to take even more control on the floor this season. Also returning is power forward Tony Parker, who averaged 6.9 points and 4.4 rebounds per game last season.

    Taking the court for the first time after sitting out a year is sophomore guard Isaac Hamilton. As one of the top recruits in 2013, look for the former Southern California high school standout from St. John Bosco to share guard duties with Bryce Alford.

    Freshmen will play a pivotal role for this squad. 2014 McDonald’s All-American’s, 6-foot-9 forward Kevin Looney and 7 foot center Thomas Welsh, are joined by 6-foot-10 forward Gyorgy “G.G.” Goloman from Hungary.

    According to Rob Goldberg of Bleacher Report…

    "Looney is athletic enough to make plays at the rim while also having the skill to hit a three-point shot if given the chance."

    He should play a key role within the offense from the start.

    Last season the Bruins bench averaged 22 points per game. This year their bench isn’t nearly as deep and they’ll need players like guard Noah Allen and forward Wanaah Bail to step up and contribute more.

    Right now Alford’s squad is young, inexperienced and trying to develop chemistry, so don’t be surprised if this team looks like a very different group come March. To achieve that goal the Bruins will need to improve in areas such as tempo and defense, but that should come with time. For now though, to echo Alford, fans will need to practice patience.

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