Men’s basketball
Ryan Smith, assistant Sports editor
The Pac-12 announced its All-Pac-12 teams Monday afternoon following the conclusion of the regular season over the weekend.
UCLA men’s basketball had two of its players selected – junior guard Aaron Holiday and senior center Thomas Welsh.
Holiday was named to the first team while leading the conference in scoring at 20.1 points per game. He is also second in assists per game with 5.8. This is Holiday’s first career all-conference selection after coming off the bench in his first two years at UCLA.
Holiday was also one of five players named to the Pac-12 All-Defensive Team. He is averaging 1.3 steals per game.
Welsh’s selection to the second team was also a first in his career. The 7-footer came up just short a season ago, being named as an honorable mention as a junior.
This season, Welsh is averaging a double-double for the Bruins at 12.7 points and 10.5 rebounds per contest.
Freshman guard Kris Wilkes also found his way onto the Pac-12 All-Freshman Team while in the midst of a standout first season for UCLA. He is averaging 14 points and 5 rebounds per night, and has started in all 30 games this season.
The Bruins will begin the Pac-12 tournament in Las Vegas on Thursday.
Women’s basketball
Ryan Smith, assistant Sports editor
No. 9 UCLA women’s basketball was eliminated from the Pac-12 Tournament after a loss to No. 6 Oregon in Saturday’s semifinal matchup, but two Bruins were still named to the All-Tournament Team on Monday.
Senior guard Jordin Canada was selected after a pair of solid outings in which she averaged 23 points and three assists per game. Canada also picked up nine steals in those two games, showcasing why she was named Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year.
Senior forward Monique Billings was also named to the All-Tournament Team on Monday. She had a stellar weekend for the Bruins, averaging 18 points and 8.5 rebounds per contest.
Billings was also recently named as one of five finalists for the Lisa Leslie Award, given to the nation’s top center.
Despite falling in the Pac-12 tournament, UCLA will likely host the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament at Pauley Pavilion starting March 16.
Josh Rosen
Sam Connon, Daily Bruin contributor
The Bruin who drew the most attention at this weekend’s NFL Draft Combine was quarterback Josh Rosen.
Rosen, who went 17-13 as a starter at UCLA is considered by many draft analysts to be a top pick, and is even in the running to be selected No. 1 overall.
Rosen measured in at 6 feet 4 inches with nearly 10-inch hands, an ideal size for a professional quarterback. His 226-pound weigh-in also eased some people’s worries that he was too skinny for the NFL game.
While Rosen has been seen as a stationary passer who will rarely leave the pocket, his 4.92 second 40-yard dash proved that he has the potential to move moderately well. While not as low as the 40 times from USC’s Sam Darnold or Wyoming’s Josh Allen, Rosen’s performance showed scouts that he isn’t as stiff as some thought.
Rosen continued to assert his dominance as a pure pocket passer, impressing scouts in all of his passing drills. He missed his first throw of the day, a slant route, but was seen laughing it off and he didn’t miss a target for the rest of the drill.
While some doubted his ability to consistently throw the deep ball, the Manhattan Beach, California, native threw multiple 60-yard bombs and hit his target on all of them.
One of the most prominent issues teams have had with Rosen is his reported inability to prioritize football and lead his teammates. Perhaps Rosen’s biggest win of the weekend was his performance in interviews, where he put many of those rumors to bed. His teammates at the combine, left tackle Kolton Miller and center Scott Quessenberry, also defended Rosen’s character in their interviews.
Rosen is now projected by all seven of NFL.com’s experts to be selected in the top six. He may not have solidified himself as the best quarterback in the draft, but Rosen certainly silenced many of his critics.