UCLA Basketball Officially Begins Fall Practice
It has been 191 days since UCLA’s trip to the Sweet 16 last March.
And on Saturday afternoon, the Bruins returned to the court for their first true fall practice of the 2014-15 season. With the addition of incoming freshmen Kevon Looney, Thomas Welsh and G.G. Goloman, UCLA is looking ahead to head coach Steve Alford’s second season in Westwood.
“This is an exciting time of the year,” Alford said after Saturday’s practice. “Anytime that you get to October, you know that basketball is starting. And basketball is starting all over the country. We have a lot of work to do, and we know that this is going to be a big month for us.”
And October is where the foundation is established.
The Bruins are less than four weeks away from an exhibition game against Azusa Pacific in Pauley Pavilion the night of Friday, Oct. 31. Two weeks later, UCLA will tip-off its regular season at home against Montana State on Friday, Nov. 14.
UCLA saw three underclassmen from last season selected in the first round of the NBA Draft. With the selections of Kyle Anderson, Jordan Adams and Zach LaVine, UCLA was the only college program last June to produce three first-round picks.
Other players will need to step up, and younger players will play larger roles. Looney, Welsh and junior forward/center Tony Parker will be relied upon to fill the departures of twin forwards David and Travis Wear, who graduated last season and are currently on training camp rosters for the Sacramento Kings and the New York Knicks, respectively.
Looney and Welsh earned McDonald’s All-America honors as high school seniors last spring, and both players began acclimating to college life in Westwood during summer school in June.
“What I like most with those two guys is the kind of people they are,” Alford said. “When you have talented guys that are great people, they’re always going to make it. Thomas and Kevon are going to make it, first and foremost, because they are outstanding young men. They want to work. They’re sponges. They listen. They’re very coachable. And they are very respectful. At their respective positions, they are extremely talented.”
Looking to help tutor the youngsters this fall is senior guard Norman Powell, who enters the 2014-15 campaign having played in all 105 games for UCLA the last three seasons. A 6-foot-4 product hailing from San Diego, Powell averaged 11.4 points and 2.8 rebounds per game for UCLA last season, connecting on 53.3 percent of his total shots.
Powell, who earned a reputation throughout the league last year as a talented defender and a high-rising dunker, has looked to hone his all-around game this summer. His production has steadily increased each season, and the veteran guard looks to showcase his leadership on a young team this season.
“Being on campus all summer was really important for me, especially with this team coming into the season,” Powell said after Saturday’s practice. “I know that I’m the most experienced guy coming back, so it was very important for me to be here during the summer. Those 12 weeks were really big, especially coming off the season we had last year and losing five major guys.”
Alford developed a strong relationship with Powell soon after being hired at UCLA in March 2013. For the Bruins’ head coach, having a senior guard with Powell’s leadership and experience is crucial.
“It’s huge,” Alford said. “And the great thing about Norman is that he’s gotten better each year. He had a great year last year, and we’ll expect more out of him this year, both offensively, defensively, and with this production. I like what he brings to this team. He did a really good job this summer, working with our guys and helping out the younger players.”
Powell, along with sophomore Bryce Alford and Parker, are the only three players returning from last season’s squad that played major minutes. Alford, a 6-foot-3 guard, averaged 8.0 points per game and was one of just two freshmen nationwide to log at least 100 assists and fewer than 50 turnovers. One of five selections to the Pac-12 All-Freshman Team, Alford will play a greater role during his sophomore season.
Parker made a substantial jump in production during his sophomore year. After averaging nearly six minutes per game as a freshman (2012-13), Parker logged 6.9 points and 4.4 rebounds per game in all 37 contests, making nine starts as a sophomore. The 6-foot-9 forward/center from Atlanta will provide a challenge for incoming freshman Welsh in practice this month as the two big men battle under the basket.
Sophomores Noah Allen and Wanaah Bail saw limited action as freshmen last season and will look for their roles to increase. Both players were in Westwood during the summer and are back at full strength this fall after having battled various minor injuries during the 2013-14 season.
Hamilton sat out last season but competed in practice as the scout team’s most skilled guard. The 6-foot-4 product from nearby St. John Bosco High School earned McDonald’s All-America honors in 2013 and will be counted on from the start to bolster UCLA’s backcourt.
“Isaac has been with our program for almost 14 months now, and yet he has not been able to play in games,” Steve Alford said. “I know that he is champing at the bit. He’s excited. He had a great year, almost one year and a half, of working and competing. He is stronger and he’s more physical than he was coming out of high school. He is just really eager to play. He’s a guard who will be able to play multiple positions and score in multiple ways.”
Likewise, UCLA is eager to be back on campus and back in the gym. Nearly five months removed from winning the Pac-12 Tournament and moving on to the Sweet 16, the Bruins are focused on making significant strides this month to prepare for another exciting campaign that kicks off Nov. 14.
“We have a lot of work to do, because we have a lot of new guys,” Alford said. “But I like their intensity, their enthusiasm here in the first day. It was tremendous, and we can definitely build on that.”