Busting Brackets
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Pac-12 Basketball: Ducks to remain the league’s best

By Carmine Carcieri

March 12, 2016; Las Vegas, NV, USA; Oregon Ducks head coach Dana Altman celebrates after cutting down the net after the championship game of the Pac-12 Conference tournament against the Utah Utes at MGM Grand Garden Arena. The Ducks defeated the Utes 88-57. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports
March 12, 2016; Las Vegas, NV, USA; Oregon Ducks head coach Dana Altman celebrates after cutting down the net after the championship game of the Pac-12 Conference tournament against the Utah Utes at MGM Grand Garden Arena. The Ducks defeated the Utes 88-57. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports /
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Feb 27, 2016; Stanford, CA, USA; UCLA Bruins guard Isaac Hamilton (10) shoots against the Stanford Cardinal in the 2nd half at Maples Pavilion. Mandatory Credit: John Hefti-USA TODAY Sports
Feb 27, 2016; Stanford, CA, USA; UCLA Bruins guard Isaac Hamilton (10) shoots against the Stanford Cardinal in the 2nd half at Maples Pavilion. Mandatory Credit: John Hefti-USA TODAY Sports /

2. UCLA Bruins

2015-16 record: 15-17 overall, 6-12 in Pac-12

Head coach: Steve Alford

Key returning players: Isaac Hamilton, Bryce Alford, Thomas Welsh, Aaron Holiday, Prince Ali, Gyorgy Goloman, Alex Olesinski

Newcomers: Five-star PG Lonzo Ball, five-star PF T.J. Leaf, four-star C Ike Anigbogu (out 4-to-6 weeks with meniscus injury) 

UCLA might be the most intriguing team in the entire nation.

Why?

With the fan base angry, head coach Steve Alford needs to lead the Bruins to the NCAA Tournament. He returned his one year extension this offseason and apologized to the Bruin fans. The program made the Sweet 16 in 2015 and won two games in the Big Dance in 2014, but expectations are always soaring high at UCLA.

UCLA Bruins
UCLA Bruins /

UCLA Bruins

Then there’s five-star freshman point guard Lonzo Ball. Ball is an elite passer, who has terrific vision, great instincts and basically sees plays before they actually happen. While Ball is not a great shooter, he is capable of knocking down shots from the perimeter.

But Alford may have some difficulty handing the reigns of the offense to Ball given that his son Bryce is still in the fold. Bryce can play off the ball, run off screens and find in-rhythm threes, but will he be happy with that role? If Ball struggles early in the season, is Alford going to flip to Bryce? Will playing Ball at the two eliminate his ability to truly impact the game?

Finally, there’s the fact that forward Isaac Hamilton gets completely overlooked. Hamilton is the best player on this Bruins team due to his versatility. Hamilton averaged a team high 16.8 points, grabbed 4.2 rebounds, dished out 3.3 assists and had 1.0 steals per game last season. He also shot 47 percent from the field, drilled 38 percent of his jumpers from long range and guarded multiple positions on defense.

UCLA has more than just Ball, Bryce Alford and Hamilton in 2016-17 though. They still have seven-footer Thomas Welsh up front, return now-sophomore guards Prince Ali and Aaron Holiday, and add two talented freshman in T.J. Leaf and Ike Anigbogu.

The Bruins would be selected third in this preview if it wasn’t for Allonzo Trier’s question marks at Arizona. However, it’s not like the Bruins are an incapable team. They have talent up and down the roster. Now it’s just time for the head coach to capitalize on it.

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