UCLA Basketball 2014-15 Team Outlook, Media Guide
2014-15 UCLA Team Outlook
Nearly seven months since UCLA won the 2014 Pac-12 Tournament and advanced to the NCAA Tournament’s Sweet 16, the Bruins are eager to open the 2014-15 season and build off their recent success.
The wait since last March has been long enough. With a talented influx of highly sought-after freshmen, UCLA and head coach Steve Alford are looking toward the upcoming basketball season with excitement and optimism.
“Anytime you get into October, when you get your team back on the court for practice, that’s an exciting time,” Alford said. “We have a lot of work to do, but our team’s intensity, their enthusiasm, their desire to learn has been tremendous.”
After posting a 28-9 record last year, UCLA will need to replace four players from the starting lineup, having lost five key components from the team’s eight-man rotation. Guards Kyle Anderson, Jordan Adams and Zach LaVine were all selected in the first round of the NBA Draft last June. Graduates David Wear and Travis Wear opened the fall on NBA training camp rosters.
Senior Norman Powell will be expected to shoulder significant leadership responsibilities. As the team’s most veteran player – he has played in all 105 games for UCLA the past three seasons – Powell is fully aware of and has completely embraced his new role.
Junior Tony Parker and sophomore Bryce Alford are UCLA’s only other players who earned significant playing time last season. Both players competed in all 37 games, and these two Bruins will be relied upon to play even more minutes in 2014-15.
In his second season as UCLA’s head coach, Steve Alford and the Bruins will look for contributions from sophomores such as Isaac Hamilton, Noah Allen and Wanaah Bail and freshmen Kevon Looney, Thomas Welsh and G.G. Goloman.
BACKCOURT
Powell and Bryce Alford enter the season as UCLA’s most experienced guards, but the team will also look for Hamilton to play a pivotal role in the backcourt as both a facilitator and scorer.
In each of three seasons in Westwood, Powell’s production has made steady increases, none more apparent than last year, when the 6-foot-4 guard ranked third on the team in scoring (11.4 points per game). Powell had averaged 4.6 points per game as a freshman and 6.1 points per game as a sophomore.
“Having a seasoned veteran like Norman is huge for us,” said Steve Alford, who enters his 24th season as a college basketball head coach. “He’s really gotten better each year. We’ll expect more out of him this year, offensively, defensively and with this production. He did a really good job in the offseason, and we’re excited about what he brings to this team.”
Bryce Alford played a critical role for UCLA off the bench during his freshman season, but the Pac-12 All-Freshman Team selection will assume even more responsibility in his second year. He was one of just two freshmen in the nation last season to record over 100 assists with less than 50 turnovers, logging a 2.1 assist-to-turnover ratio while averaging 8.0 points per game.
Hamilton sat out the 2013-14 season but was able to practice with the team, serving as one of the scout team’s most savvy guards. A dynamic playmaker at St. John Bosco High School (Bellflower, Calif.), Hamilton averaged 23.5 points, 7.6 rebounds and 5.0 assists as a senior in 2012-13 before being selected as a McDonald’s All-American.
Allen, a 6-foot-6 wing player from Pacific Grove, Calif., played in 11 games as a freshman. A hard worker who had a strong summer, Allen suffered multiple fractures to his face in a collision sustained in his collegiate debut (Nov. 12) last season. After a full recovery from his injury, he came off the bench in nine of UCLA’s final 12 games, including five of six postseason contests.
“Entering our season opener, Isaac will have been with our program for nearly 15 months,” Steve Alford said. “He’s champing at the bit for the season to arrive. He’s had about one year and a half where he’s worked really hard, just competing, getting better every day. Isaac and Bryce will play big roles in our backcourt, and we’re also really excited about Noah’s development.”
FRONTCOURT
Parker played a major role in UCLA’s frontcourt last season, averaging 6.9 points and 4.4 rebounds per game in his second full season in Westwood. This fall, the 6-foot-9 forward/center from Atlanta is joined in UCLA’s frontcourt by Bail and three talented incoming freshmen – Looney, Welsh and Goloman.
After averaging 2.4 points in just 6.3 minutes per game as a freshman (2012-13), Parker thrived off the bench during his sophomore campaign, logging 6.9 points and 4.4 rebounds in 17.2 minutes per game. He shot 60.2 percent from the field as a sophomore and has continued to improve his game in the preseason, going up against three freshman big men in practice each day.
“We liked Tony’s production a year ago, and he knows that he will have an even greater role this season,” Alford said. “He made a great leap in playing time from his freshman to his sophomore year, and he’s only going to get better by going up against Thomas, Kevon and G.G. in practice.”
Looney and Welsh, two of the nation’s most highly-recruited high school talents last year, will add significant depth and ability to the Bruins’ emerging frontcourt. As a senior at Hamilton High School (Milwaukee, Wis.) last season, Looney registered 27.9 points and 12.7 rebounds per game before securing McDonald’s All-America acclaim and being named the 2014 Gatorade Player of the Year in the state of Wisconsin.
Welsh, a 7-foot center from Redondo Beach, Calif., made remarkable strides in three seasons on the varsity team at nearby Loyola High School. Like Looney, Welsh was named a 2014 McDonald’s All-American, having averaged 15.3 points, 11.2 rebounds and 2.7 blocks per game during his senior season.
“First and foremost, Kevon and Thomas are outstanding young men,” Alford said. “When you have talented guys who are great people, they’re always going to make it. These two guys are going to thrive because of their work ethic, their character and their desire to get better. They’re very respectful young men, and at their respective positions, they are extremely talented.”
Bail and Goloman will be counted upon to add depth to the Bruins’ frontcourt. Bail, a 6-foot-9 forward, played in 13 games for UCLA as a freshman last season. An immensely athletic and physical player, Bail has battled back from a pair of minor knee surgeries during his freshman campaign and will play a role for the Bruins going forward.
Goloman, a 6-foot-10 forward hailing from Hungary, spent his senior year of high school competing at The Sagemont School (Weston, Fla.), where he helped lead his team to the 2014 Florida Class 3A state title. Prior to moving to the United States, Goloman excelled for the Hungarian U18 team, averaging 15.1 points and 8.5 rebounds per game at the 2013 European Championships.