Home crowds are notorious for heckling visiting opponents when they step up to the free-throw line. Fans wave their arms and jump up and down, desperately trying to distract the shooter.
When junior guard Bryce Alford lines up his shot at the charity stripe, however, an old classic is almost always employed.
“Daddy’s boy!”
Steve Alford, Bryce’s dad, took the coaching job at UCLA in March 2013, the spring before Bryce entered college. The entire Alford family moved its life from New Mexico to California, including Bryce’s older brother Kory, who was a walk-on to the UCLA team and now works as a video coordinator with the program.
So when Bryce made the team as a scholarship player, it wasn’t just student sections across the country crying nepotism. It was everyone. Pundits and news outlets joined the side of those who questioned whether Bryce was qualified to play at UCLA.
The media, however, was the only party dragging Bryce and Steve’s father-son relationship onto the court. Bryce Alford was a scholarship player in his own right, graduating La Cueva High School as New Mexico’s all-time single-season scoring leader after he posted 1,050 points in his senior season. That year, Bryce Alford averaged 37.7 points, 8.5 rebounds and 6.4 assists – irrefutably impressive numbers.
Many made noise about the fact that another combo guard in Bryce’s class – Allerik Freeman – decommitted from UCLA in April 2013 after being “ignored” by Steve Alford. The four-star recruit ended up at Baylor, where he currently averages 12.9 points and 1.9 assists per game – a number that pales in comparison to Bryce’s 17.4 points and 5.1 assists.
While Steve Alford is vocal about his high opinion of Bryce as a player, he also hasn’t been afraid to criticize him either. Following Bryce’s disastrous two-game road trip to open conference play, during which the guard shot 23 percent from the field, Steve Alford texted his son to tell him that he needed to regain his toughness and play better.
“I was so disappointed in the way that I played on the road trip as an individual,” Bryce Alford said. “So, yeah, he let me know immediately that I had a poor trip and I already knew that, so I took that on my shoulders.”
Bryce did just that, burying a 3-pointer with 1.8 seconds left in UCLA’s game against then-No. 7 Arizona four days later to secure the Bruins’ 87-84 win.
That’s not the only time Bryce Alford has come through in the clutch for the Bruins this season. In UCLA’s three upsets of top-20 teams, Alford averaged 17.6 points and consistently provided late-game heroics.
During the Bruins’ grudge match with then-No. 1 Kentucky, Alford played with consistently high energy and aggression – at one point diving out of bounds to save a play before finishing the possession with a contested floater over the Wildcat big men.
Against then-No. 20 Gonzaga, Alford shook off a slow start to score 10 second-half points and carry the Bruins over the Bulldogs, who had led by two at halftime.
To cap off an impressive few months for the guard, Bryce was named the Pac-12 Player of the Week on Monday, a career first for him. Now, it isn’t just his dad lauding Bryce’s talent – national news outlets and conference officials are starting to agree.
Bryce Alford hasn’t gotten to this point through any favors from his father. After starting out as a backup guard behind big names like Norman Powell and Zach LaVine – both of whom now play in the NBA – Alford has stepped up to lead the team in his own right.
Bryce also isn’t the first in his family to be a coach’s son, so he’s no stranger to the extra scrutiny. Steve Alford’s father, Sam Alford, coached his high school team. Also included in that lineage is a fierce competitiveness and a refusal to lose, whether it be backyard shooting contests or FIFA video games.
When it comes to a matchup with one of the best teams in the country, this family attitude is no different, as evidenced by the way Bryce Alford has continued to step into larger roles as his college career continues.
He is, after all, his father’s son – a daddy’s boy.