UCLA Basketball: College Hoops Insider Pinpoints How Bruins Can Stay Atop Pac-12 This Year

Your UCLA Bruins enjoyed a terrific run in 2022-23, finishing with a 31-6 record and a Sweet 16 appearance. But their best player, 2023 Pac-12 Player of the Year and the Lute Olson National Player of the Year Jaime Jaquez Jr., was selected by the Miami Heat with the No. 18 pick in this past June's draft, while two other key pieces, guards Amari Bailey and Jaylen Clark, were picked in the second round.

Tyger Campbell and David Singleton were not selected, but found homes on NBA Summer League rosters and seem set to become NBA G League affiliate players.

With all those players off the board, the program seems to be at least at risk of dipping a bit in 2023-24. During a recent visit to Westwood to take in a team practice, Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports opined that it could fall to a tandem of returning second-year pieces elevating their play to salvage the club.

Rothstein posited that UCLA would need starting point guard Dylan Andrews and starting center Adem Bona to reach All-Pac-12 levels of output for the Bruins to succeed. That would represent a significant leap for both players.

As a freshman last year, the 6'2" Andrews averaged just 3.3 points and 1.1 rebounds in 10.9 minutes a night. The 6'10" Bonema averaged 7.7 points on 67.5% shooting from the floor, 5.3 rebounds, and 1.7 blocks.

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