For a coach whose team just returned from a seventh-place finish in the Battle 4 Atlantis tournament and which was throttled on national television by North Carolina less than a week ago, Steve Alford was unexpectedly pleased with UCLA’s performance last week during Tuesday’s media availability.
While those watching the games saw the Bruins’ mistakes, Alford saw learning opportunities.
Now back home at Pauley Pavilion, UCLA will look to build upon its recent play against Cal State Fullerton Wednesday at 9 p.m.
Alford’s positive mindset doesn’t mean he is ignoring how his team played in the Bahamas. He acknowledged the Bruins’ many mistakes, but it was the type of mistakes they made that gave him no reason to panic.
The loss to Oklahoma could have been avoided, Alford said, if UCLA had simply made its free throws. Similarly, foul trouble and a poor assist-to-turnover rate caused by North Carolina’s unfamiliar defensive approach and length exacerbated the Bruins’ problems against the Tar Heels.
Those mistakes were costly, but are the type of mistakes that don’t cause lasting concern, according to Alford.
“If it’s effort, or you just got some things you can’t fix, that’s what you get nervous with,” Alford said.
While those issues can be fixed, one area of concern UCLA will have to deal with all season is its depth.
Some of the Bruins’ most notable issues in their big loss to the Tar Heels stemmed from their lack of depth. With freshman forward Kevon Looney in serious, foul trouble and with no reliable ball-handlers to replace sophomore guards Bryce Alford and Isaac Hamilton who both struggled with turnovers, UCLA saw its deficit expand.
Given UCLA’s limited bench options, Steve Alford said Tuesday that he needs to experiment with some different, more creative lineups to counteract the depth issue.
“We’re so big up front, that’s why we’re learning,” Alford said. “That’s why it’s a learning process for us as coaches with combinations.”
Alford mentioned adjustments such as having Looney or senior guard Norman Powell take on point guard duties for stretches of games to allow Bryce Alford to get some rest and to play off the ball.
Powell shared his coach’s optimism about the lack of backcourt depth.
“(The lack of guards is) great for us because we’re learning how to manage a game, stay out of foul trouble and just help the bench along the way,” Powell said.
The adjustments the guards are making also apply to the whole team. Both Powell and Bryce Alford pointed to maintaining concentration on free throws and their level of play throughout the whole game as an improvement the Bruins can make that would help the entire team.
Alford saw concentration not only as the key to fixing UCLA’s missed free throw problem, but also as a way to maintain the high level of play UCLA started the season with, even when adversity strikes.
“A lot of times we play 20 minutes or 30 minutes and we didn’t focus in on defense really for a whole game,” Looney said. “I think that’s the biggest thing to work on.”
The Bruins made plenty of blunders in their two losses in the Battle 4 Atlantis tournament, but that they know how to fix them gives Steve Alford plenty to be pleased about.