UCLA Basketball: Sophomore Standout Nets Huge Preseason Honor
Your UCLA Bruins will be fielding a completely revamped roster in 2023-24, featuring seven freshmen to supplant a big portion of a talented outgoing class that saw three alums get drafted by NBA clubs.
One of the actually-returning Bruins contributors still on the roster this year, power forward Adem Bona, is reportedly in the running for a major college basketball honor this season.
Per Mike Regalado of Bruin Report Online, Bona has been listed as one of the top 20 prospects at his position this year, and thus in line for the Karl Malone Award, distributed to the top power forward of the impending NCAA season. The award is of course named after the Louisiana Tech standout-turned-NBA Hall of Famer with the Utah Jazz and (for one year) Los Angeles Lakers.
Arizona big man Keshad Johnson and Colorado four Tristan da Silva are the other two competitors pegged to have a shot at the honor.
During an outstanding 2022-23 rookie season, Bona started 32 of his 33 contests with a 31-6 Bruins club that advanced all the way to the Sweet Sixteen last spring. He averaged 7.7 points on 67.5% shooting from the floor (the second-best conversion rate in the conference), 5.3 rebounds, an astounding 1.7 blocks, 0.7 assists and 0.6 steals a night, while being named the Pac-12 Rookie of the Year, and a Pac-12 All-Freshman Pac-12 All-Defense honoree.
Here's hoping the 6'10" 20-year-old reaches the heights projected for him this season.
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