NCAA Basketball: Preseason top 25 power rankings for 2022-23 season

The Bruins have lost several key pieces this offseason, including leading scorer Johnny Juzang, Jules Bernard, and former five-star prospect Peyton Watson. But there’s a nice combination of returning key contributors and incoming freshmen that give this roster plenty of potential.

Point guard Tyger Campbell, one of the more underrated players in NCAA Basketball, is back to run the offense. He’s one of the better two-way guards around and averaged 11.9 ppg and 4.3 apg last season. But he very well could be overshadowed by top-10 incoming freshman Amari Bailey, a 6’5 combo guard that can play both on and off the ball. He’s a great creator for himself and others in the backcourt and will be a nice fit with Campbell.

On the wings, Jaime Jaquez will once again be a leading option on offense, coming off producing 13.9 ppg and a team-leading 5.7 rpg last season. The 6’7 forward had some rough games in the middle of the year but finished with 11 straight double-digit scoring games, including 30 points on the road at Washington. And replacing Juzang is likely Jaylen Clark, who despite playing just 18 mpg off the bench, was named to an All-Pac 12 Defensive team. And when he started and played extended minutes last season, proved to be more than capable of an offensive threat.

There’s also five-star freshman center Adem Bona, likely to be an upgrade over past bigs, Myles Johnson and Cody Riley. If he’s as good a defender as the high school tape suggests, and Bailey also is good on that end, Coach Mick Cronin could have one of his best defensive units yet. And there’s already enough offense around for UCLA to be a threat too, making them a legit top-10 contender.