NCAA Basketball: Projecting 8 biggest breakout stars for 2019-20

The Mick Cronin hire was an extremely curious one for UCLA for many reasons (even though he landed the top point guard recruit in the country, so what do I know, right?), but his arrival sets the table for a big year for Jalen Hill and the rest of the big men on the roster.

Under former head coach Steve Alford, the Bruins played a soft perimeter-oriented game that relied on their guards to do all the playmaking, whether that be creating a shot for themselves or drawing help defenders to create shots for others. Big men were largely secondary options.

On the flip side, Cronin’s teams at Cincinnati were known for their strength, toughness, and physical play of their big men. That plays right into Hill’s hands as the most physical big man returning for the Bruins.

Hill was quietly one of the best rebounders in the Pac-12 last season, ranking 11th in offensive rebound rate and seventh in defensive rebound rate. He had five games in which he recorded double-digit rebounds despite seeing limited action, including a monster 20-rebound performance early in the season.

At 6-10 and 235 pounds, this physical, athletic interior presence wasn’t properly utilized by Alford’s system (then again, you could argue that no one on the Bruins was really utilized properly), but matches up perfectly with how Mick Cronin teams have played in the past.

There’s a hole in the middle of this lineup with Moses Brown’s early departure for the NBA, and Hill’s physicality and defense (he’s a solid shot-blocker, too) not only gives him the inside track on earning it but also the tools to excel in a big way.