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UCLA Basketball: Can the Bruins make a run for the 2018-19 Pac-12 title?

By Lukas Harkins

NEW ORLEANS, LA - DECEMBER 23: Jaylen Hands #4 of the UCLA Bruins reacts after scoring during the second half of the CBS Sports Classic against the Kentucky Wildcats at the Smoothie King Center on December 23, 2017 in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Photo by Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images)
NEW ORLEANS, LA - DECEMBER 23: Jaylen Hands #4 of the UCLA Bruins reacts after scoring during the second half of the CBS Sports Classic against the Kentucky Wildcats at the Smoothie King Center on December 23, 2017 in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Photo by Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images) /
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UCLA basketball may be losing a fair amount of talent this offseason but plenty is coming in as well. How might the Bruins stack up with the rest of the Pac-12?

UCLA basketball made the NCAA Tournament last season but barely. The Bruins had a solid season overall, compiling a record of 21-12 (11-7 Pac-12), but this was just enough to be included in the final four teams to make the field. This was largely due to a down season from the Pac-12 as a whole but it was still a disappointing season for the Bruins considering their preseason ranking of No. 21 in the country. As we look forward to 2018-19, though, there are plenty of reasons to believe that UCLA will be improved.

For starters, it is almost a guarantee that the Bruins will find a spot in the AP poll at some this season. Despite head coach Steve Alford’s somewhat poor reputation, his team has been ranked in the top-25 for at least one week in every single of his five seasons at the helm of the program. Dating back a few more years to the time under Ben Howland, UCLA has been ranked at some point in each of the past seven seasons. Part of this has to do with the nationwide popularity of the Bruins but there is also a consistent surplus of talent in L.A.

Leading the way for UCLA in 2018-19 will be two rising sophomores. With Aaron Holiday and Thomas Welsh no longer on the team, the star roles will be taken over by Kris Wilkes (13.7 points) and Jaylen Hands (9.9 points). Both of these players had solid freshmen seasons and showed flashes of being elite college players. With a full season of experience under their belts, it would not be a surprise to see one or both of these players named to an All-Pac-12 team at the end of 2018-19. In addition, rising junior Prince Ali (9.1 points) will be seen as the experienced veteran on the roster.

As is typical with this program, though, UCLA’s incoming recruiting class is what will make them a contender in the Pac-12. In my opinion, the Oregon Ducks will be the frontrunner to win the conference in 2018-19 but that doesn’t mean that Bruins are too far behind. Per 247Sports, UCLA has snagged the No. 6 ranked recruiting class in the country. This class features a massive six players, five of which are ranked in the top-100.

Each of these incoming freshmen, including top-25 big man Moses Brown and talented forward Shareef O’Neal, will be asked to play major roles immediately. What makes this group of youngsters so fascinating, though, is that in addition to the top-10 class, Jalen Smith and Cody Riley, who were suspended last season, will be back in action for the Bruins.

Next: Updated preseason top-25

On the whole, UCLA will probably have the most talented roster in the Pac-12 next season. The roster is full of former four-star recruits and could feast in a year where Arizona is expected to have a down season. Obviously, the biggest worry for the Bruins will be youth. The inexperience on this roster cannot be simply overlooked, especially when considering how UCLA has struggled in the past despite top-tier rosters.

Nonetheless, I think that the Bruins’ firepower will be enough to keep them in contention for the Pac-12 title. As of right now, the conference could be a two-team race between UCLA and Oregon. Both squads will be rather young but this likely won’t make too much of a difference in a conference that is fairly thin on talent for next season.

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