Post by mhbruin on May 21, 2023 9:25:13 GMT -8
CHANGES
Bona Returned.
Clark stayed in the draft.
Mara and Buyuktuncel committed.
Sept 5, Mara, Berke, and Vide re-ranked.
---------------------------------
This will be a HUGE rebuilding year. When all is said and done, we will be a very young team with a ton of new players. We will have talent. How long will it take for it all to come together?
GRADUATING
David is a much bigger loss than his numbers indicate, on top of his outside shooting. His leadership was huge. With Jaquez and Tyger leaving, there is a big hole left. We'll have to see if guys like Dylan Anderews and Will McClendon can fill it.
IN THE DRAFT OR TURNING PRO
Four players turned pro. Three of them were drafted. So much for the negative recruiting about Cronin's players not making the NBA.
These four are most of the starting lineup The only regular starter returning is Bona. David Singleton started 16 games and Kenneth Nwuba started 5 times.
We will be losing our top 5 scorers, 5 of our top 6 rebounders, our top 5 in assists, top 5 in steals, and 5 of the top 6 in blocked shots. This may be the biggest rebuiliding job in UCLA history.
TRANSFERRING OUT
Sadly, Big Mac never got to demonstrate his special sauce, because of his injury. Surprisingly he still hasn't found a new home. He was a 4-star out of high school, and rated the #42 player in the country.
Canka was 5 of 10 from beyond the arc. If we have trouble scoring, we might miss him. Our first foray into overseas recruiting wasn't a massive success. This year's class with have a lot more opportunity to make a big impact.
RETURNING
The decision of Adem Bona was very important for the upcoming season. He provides a lot of talent and experience. It says a lot about this roster is that we are looking at sophomores as experienced players.
Dylan Andrews looks like he will be a really important player next season. Will McClendon is a great ball-handler, but he needs to find his shooting touch to really play a lot.
Nwuba's role will be interesting. He will be a 5th-year senior on a team with only one other upperclassman.
RECRUITS
(#13 class, #3 in Pac-12)
Tracy Pierson of BRO has said that if the foreign players were all ranked like Americans, this could be the #1 recruiting class in the country. At some point I expect the recruiting services to rate some of the Euros.
This would be a very good recruiting class, even without the international players. We need a really good class and a lot of players considering how much we are losing and only returning 4 players.
Of the Americans, only Mack seems like he is ready to be a significant contributor next season. The Williams guys will be fine muliti-year players for the Bruins, but we need immediate help.
International players are a bit less predictable, since we haven't seen them compete with the best American high-school players. We will need at least of couple of them to be instant significant contributors.
Berke is ranked behind Henri Vessar of Arizona and Andrej Stojakovic who is headed to Stanford, but ahead of Kymany Houinsou of WSU and Filip Borovicanin of Arizona.
There is talk of Vide being a potential lottery pick and Buyuktuncel being a first-round pick in 2024, but that is pretty speculative at this point.
Tracy Pierson of BRO has said that if the foreign players were all ranked like Americans, this could be the #1 recruiting class in the country.
(#89 transfer class, #9 in Pac-12)
After being named an All-Pac-12 freshman, Lazar Stefanović followed this up with a good sophomore year, although his shooting inside the arc wasn't that great. Reports from practice is that he has been lighting it up from outside the arc.
CONCLUSION
We are going to be VERY young. We will have 1 senior (Nwuba), a junior (Stefanović), 3 sophomores (Bona, Andrews, and McClendon), and 7 freshmen.
Lots of Bruin fans and some smart people are projecting big things for the international recruits. Up to now no international recruits who have not played some high school ball in the US have been one-and-done. I don't know of any who were lottery picks or first-rounders.
The best international players have gone straight from playing in Europe to the NBA or through G-League Ignirte. In the NIL era, that may be changing. Schools seem to be finding ways for international players to collect NIL money.
Bona Returned.
Clark stayed in the draft.
Mara and Buyuktuncel committed.
Sept 5, Mara, Berke, and Vide re-ranked.
---------------------------------
This will be a HUGE rebuilding year. When all is said and done, we will be a very young team with a ton of new players. We will have talent. How long will it take for it all to come together?
GRADUATING
| Player | Games | Starts | Minutes | Points | Rebounds | Assists |
| David Singleton | 37 | 16 | 28 | 9 | 3 | 1.1 |
David is a much bigger loss than his numbers indicate, on top of his outside shooting. His leadership was huge. With Jaquez and Tyger leaving, there is a big hole left. We'll have to see if guys like Dylan Anderews and Will McClendon can fill it.
IN THE DRAFT OR TURNING PRO
Four players turned pro. Three of them were drafted. So much for the negative recruiting about Cronin's players not making the NBA.
| Player | Games | Starts | Minutes | Points | Rebounds | Assists | Can Return? |
| Jaimie Jaquez Jr. | 37 | 37 | 33 | 18 | 8 | 2.4 | No |
| Tyger Campbell | 37 | 37 | 32 | 13 | 3 | 5.0 | Yes, but not expected |
| Amari Bailey | 30 | 28 | 27 | 11 | 4 | 2.2 | No |
| Jaylen Clark | 30 | 29 | 31 | 13 | 6 | 1.9 | Yes |
These four are most of the starting lineup The only regular starter returning is Bona. David Singleton started 16 games and Kenneth Nwuba started 5 times.
We will be losing our top 5 scorers, 5 of our top 6 rebounders, our top 5 in assists, top 5 in steals, and 5 of the top 6 in blocked shots. This may be the biggest rebuiliding job in UCLA history.
TRANSFERRING OUT
| Player | Games | Starts | Minutes | Points | Rebounds | Assists | Destination |
| Mac Etienne | 32 | 0 | 7 | 1 | 2 | 0.2 | DePaul |
| Abramo Canka | 22 | 0 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 0.2 | Wake Forest |
Sadly, Big Mac never got to demonstrate his special sauce, because of his injury. Surprisingly he still hasn't found a new home. He was a 4-star out of high school, and rated the #42 player in the country.
Canka was 5 of 10 from beyond the arc. If we have trouble scoring, we might miss him. Our first foray into overseas recruiting wasn't a massive success. This year's class with have a lot more opportunity to make a big impact.
RETURNING
| Player | Games | Starts | Minutes | Points | Rebounds | Assists | FG% | 3Pt% | A/TO | Class | Recruiting Stars | Recruiting Rank |
| Adem Bona F | 33 | 32 | 23 | 8 | 5 | 0.7 | 68% | --- | 0.5 | So | 5 | 15 |
| Dylan Andrews | 36 | 0 | 11 | 3 | 1 | 0.9 | 43% | 32% | 1.9 | So | 4 | 39 |
| Kenneth Nwuba | 35 | 5 | 13 | 1 | 2 | 0.3 | 63% | --- | 0.9 | Sr 5 | 3 | 241 |
| Will McClendon | 27 | 0 | 9 | 1 | 1 | 0.8 | 20& | 7% | 4.4 | So | 4 | 45 |
The decision of Adem Bona was very important for the upcoming season. He provides a lot of talent and experience. It says a lot about this roster is that we are looking at sophomores as experienced players.
Dylan Andrews looks like he will be a really important player next season. Will McClendon is a great ball-handler, but he needs to find his shooting touch to really play a lot.
Nwuba's role will be interesting. He will be a 5th-year senior on a team with only one other upperclassman.
RECRUITS
(#13 class, #3 in Pac-12)
Tracy Pierson of BRO has said that if the foreign players were all ranked like Americans, this could be the #1 recruiting class in the country. At some point I expect the recruiting services to rate some of the Euros.
| Player | Size | Position | Recruiting Stars | Recruiting Rank | Offers |
| Sebastian Mack | 6-4 180 | SG | 4 | 66 | Florida State, Oklahoma, Texas A&M |
| Devin Williams | 6-10 205 | PF | 4 | 81 | USC, Texas Tech, Washington |
| Brandon Williams | 6-7 205 | PF | 4 | 70 | USC, Illinois, LSU |
| Ilane Fibleuil | 6-6 180 | SG | 4 (5-star #4 at Eurospects) | 43 | Gonzaga |
| Jan Vide | 6-6 | CG | 4 | 68 | |
| Aday Mara | 7-3 | C | 5 | 15 | |
| Berke Buyuktuncel | 6-9 | PF | 4 | 36 |
This would be a very good recruiting class, even without the international players. We need a really good class and a lot of players considering how much we are losing and only returning 4 players.
Of the Americans, only Mack seems like he is ready to be a significant contributor next season. The Williams guys will be fine muliti-year players for the Bruins, but we need immediate help.
International players are a bit less predictable, since we haven't seen them compete with the best American high-school players. We will need at least of couple of them to be instant significant contributors.
Berke is ranked behind Henri Vessar of Arizona and Andrej Stojakovic who is headed to Stanford, but ahead of Kymany Houinsou of WSU and Filip Borovicanin of Arizona.
There is talk of Vide being a potential lottery pick and Buyuktuncel being a first-round pick in 2024, but that is pretty speculative at this point.
Tracy Pierson of BRO has said that if the foreign players were all ranked like Americans, this could be the #1 recruiting class in the country.
TRANSFERRING IN
(#89 transfer class, #9 in Pac-12)
| Player | Size | Games | Starts | Minutes | Points | Rebounds | Assists | FG % | 3-Pt % | From | Class | Recruiting Stars | Recruiting Rank |
| Lazar Stefanović | 6-7 186 | 32 | 15 | 28 | 10 | 3 | 2.7 | 37% | 36% | Utah | Jr | 3 |
After being named an All-Pac-12 freshman, Lazar Stefanović followed this up with a good sophomore year, although his shooting inside the arc wasn't that great. Reports from practice is that he has been lighting it up from outside the arc.
CONCLUSION
We are going to be VERY young. We will have 1 senior (Nwuba), a junior (Stefanović), 3 sophomores (Bona, Andrews, and McClendon), and 7 freshmen.
Lots of Bruin fans and some smart people are projecting big things for the international recruits. Up to now no international recruits who have not played some high school ball in the US have been one-and-done. I don't know of any who were lottery picks or first-rounders.
The best international players have gone straight from playing in Europe to the NBA or through G-League Ignirte. In the NIL era, that may be changing. Schools seem to be finding ways for international players to collect NIL money.
Who's going to start? About the only sure things are Dylan Andrews and Bona. Stefanović and/or McClendon could start. Mara and Fibleuil might. Sebastian Mack might. The only guys who don't seem likely to start are Nwuba and the Williams boys.
I expect Cronin to play a lot of guys and combinations in the non-conference and only gradually figure out a rotation.
I can't remember going into a season with so many question marks and this little experience. There is a lot of talent on this roster. However, I see making the NCAA tournament as the ceiling for this team. I would be thrilled to be proven wrong.
The most likley scenario to me is a bad start to the season and a lot of growing pains. By the end of the season, we might be playing some very good basketball, but this seems like a rebuilding year.
Wilner:
4. UCLA
The Bruins received two pieces of good news last week when Adem Bona withdrew from the draft and Ilane Fibleuil, a touted wing from France, signed his scholarship paperwork. But all the additions to Mick Cronin’s roster don’t begin to offset the losses — none of the newcomers, for instance, are considered one-and-done talents — as the Bruins seemingly have lost ground relative to their crosstown competition. Even if we account for Cronin’s superb coaching and player development, the Bruins don’t look like a favorite, at least not yet. Previous: 2
Vrooman: 11
Let’s talk about the big elephant in the room from looking at my model. No, I don’t actually think that UCLA is going to finish 11th in the conference. But their roster right now just isn’t very good now that Jaime Jaquez, Tyger Campbell, David Singleton, Amari Bailey, and Jaylen Clark all left. That’s 5 of their top-6 players with only C Adem Bona returning. He’s a very good player and will be a contender for Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year but Bona, similar to UW’s Braxton Meah, isn’t a post-up big and hasn’t shown that he can regularly create his own offense. The only other player on the roster who played at least 30% of his team’s minutes last year was Utah transfer Lazar Stefanovic. He’s a solid shooter with size but against Q1/Q2 opponents for his career shoots 38% on 2’s an 29% on 3’s. Definitely not a surefire star.
Otherwise, the Bruins are relying on a ton of unproven mid-4-star talent. Dylan Andrews, Will McClendon, Devin Williams, Sebastian Mack, and Brandon Williams are all either 1st or 2nd year players who were ranked between 44th and 84th in their respective recruiting classes and have combined for 0 career college starts. If say 3 of them pop and become above average Pac-12 starters then they’ll be very good again. But Bona is the only guy you’d actually bet on to make an all-conference team even if it’s likely someone breaks out and joins him. If Cronin wins the Pac in UCLA’s final year with this group then he deserves a ton of credit.
It should be noted that UCLA is adding a pair of international players and there are rumors they’ll end up with at least one more. Those players are much more likely to outperform their ranking than the average player from the States because the global scouting at recruiting sites isn’t as robust. If those players come in and dominate from day one like an Azoulas Tubelis at Arizona then that’s another path to UCLA keeping up their dominance. Although Tubelis was bumped up to #51 in the rankings by the time he enrolled on campus.
I expect Cronin to play a lot of guys and combinations in the non-conference and only gradually figure out a rotation.
I can't remember going into a season with so many question marks and this little experience. There is a lot of talent on this roster. However, I see making the NCAA tournament as the ceiling for this team. I would be thrilled to be proven wrong.
The most likley scenario to me is a bad start to the season and a lot of growing pains. By the end of the season, we might be playing some very good basketball, but this seems like a rebuilding year.
Wilner:
4. UCLA
The Bruins received two pieces of good news last week when Adem Bona withdrew from the draft and Ilane Fibleuil, a touted wing from France, signed his scholarship paperwork. But all the additions to Mick Cronin’s roster don’t begin to offset the losses — none of the newcomers, for instance, are considered one-and-done talents — as the Bruins seemingly have lost ground relative to their crosstown competition. Even if we account for Cronin’s superb coaching and player development, the Bruins don’t look like a favorite, at least not yet. Previous: 2
Vrooman: 11
Let’s talk about the big elephant in the room from looking at my model. No, I don’t actually think that UCLA is going to finish 11th in the conference. But their roster right now just isn’t very good now that Jaime Jaquez, Tyger Campbell, David Singleton, Amari Bailey, and Jaylen Clark all left. That’s 5 of their top-6 players with only C Adem Bona returning. He’s a very good player and will be a contender for Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year but Bona, similar to UW’s Braxton Meah, isn’t a post-up big and hasn’t shown that he can regularly create his own offense. The only other player on the roster who played at least 30% of his team’s minutes last year was Utah transfer Lazar Stefanovic. He’s a solid shooter with size but against Q1/Q2 opponents for his career shoots 38% on 2’s an 29% on 3’s. Definitely not a surefire star.
Otherwise, the Bruins are relying on a ton of unproven mid-4-star talent. Dylan Andrews, Will McClendon, Devin Williams, Sebastian Mack, and Brandon Williams are all either 1st or 2nd year players who were ranked between 44th and 84th in their respective recruiting classes and have combined for 0 career college starts. If say 3 of them pop and become above average Pac-12 starters then they’ll be very good again. But Bona is the only guy you’d actually bet on to make an all-conference team even if it’s likely someone breaks out and joins him. If Cronin wins the Pac in UCLA’s final year with this group then he deserves a ton of credit.
It should be noted that UCLA is adding a pair of international players and there are rumors they’ll end up with at least one more. Those players are much more likely to outperform their ranking than the average player from the States because the global scouting at recruiting sites isn’t as robust. If those players come in and dominate from day one like an Azoulas Tubelis at Arizona then that’s another path to UCLA keeping up their dominance. Although Tubelis was bumped up to #51 in the rankings by the time he enrolled on campus.
| Adem Bona | Nigeria - Turkey |
| Kenneth Nwuba | Nigeria |
| Ilane Fibleuil | France |
| Adam Mara | Spain |
| Jan Vide | Slovenia |
| Berke Buyuktuncel | Turkey |
| Lazar Stefanović | Serbia |
| Slovenia | Serbia |
