Season Outlook
It should obviously go without saying that the Bruins have the potential to be one of the best teams in college basketball in 2021-22. Few teams enjoyed as extensive of a successful March Madness resurgence as UCLA did, but the Bruins’ fortune makes it easy to forget that the Bruins also suffered some glaring missteps last season – including early-season struggles against San Diego State and Pepperdine and the four-game losing streak to end the regular season and the Pac-12 Tournament.
What adds additional concern is the fact that, for all intents and purposes, the Bruins’ roster is essentially the same as last season’s – with Johnson, Watson, and McClendon as the lone newcomers. Whether the Bruins can be consistent throughout the regular season and not falter during the Pac-12 Tournament has yet to be seen – but the NCAA Tournament decidedly proved that UCLA has the blocks necessary to build the foundation of a colossus.
The exposure surrounding UCLA is warranted, and the placement of the Bruins at third in Busting Brackets’ Top 25 preseason power rankings is absolutely justified – as well as most major publications and outlets having Cronin’s crew somewhere in the top 10.
But UCLA has struggled to live up to early-season forecasts – three of the past four seasons have seen the Bruins ranked in the AP Poll preseason top 25, and all three occasions have seen UCLA drop out within a month – including during the 2020-21 season.
If the Bruins can immediately pick back up from where they left off in the Final Four, then a National Championship – the first one since 1995 – is obviously within reach, but that also requires Juzang to continue to play at a high level on a steady basis – something that he struggled to consistently do throughout 2020-21. If the junior is able to improve his offensive production, then the Bruins have a certified star – in addition to the proven role players and new depth in the roster.
Successfully implementing Johnson as a reliable center who can produce immediately will be crucial for UCLA, and doing so will supply a necessary deadly scoring edge that was not always been there for the Bruins last year. Finding appropriate opportunities for Watson and McClendon to contribute – on top of keeping Singleton, Kyman, Clark, and Etienne all on board – will also be critical for Cronin.
November 12th’s duel with Villanova – and, to a greater extent, the clash with Gonzaga a week and a half later – both loom large for the Bruins, who need to overcome their troubling history of woeful starts. Losses will cast doubts on UCLA’s legitimacy as a powerhouse, at least during the regular season – but if last season is any indication, then the Bruins’ real potential may not be actualized until the NCAA Tournament – and this time, UCLA may be talented enough to fall on the right side of a half-court buzzer-beater.