UCLA men’s basketball has reached the halfway point of the 2018-2019 season and its midseason grades are in. Here is a look at how well Daily Bruin Sports thought the Bruins performed on the court.
Starting backcourt
Grade: B
UCLA’s starting backcourt of guards sophomore Jaylen Hands and redshirt junior Prince Ali has had its fair share of head-scratching moments this season, but the players are starting to become a formidable pairing for the Bruins.
Despite only averaging 11.6 points on 37.2 percent shooting from the field, Hands has consistently been able to find ways to impact the game on both ends of the floor.
The sophomore’s evolution into a more consistent playmaker this season has been one of the main factors in the team’s recent success. Hands leads the Pac-12 in assists at 6.6 per game, 1.3 higher than the second-ranked player on the list. Hands also leads the Bruins in steals per game.
Hands’ backcourt mate, Ali, has also been inconsistent on the offensive end, but the redshirt junior has added an element of excitement to a lineup that at times can be lethargic.
Ali’s athleticism and willingness to take risks has led to a handful of big moments for UCLA this season. Most recently, Ali went off for a team-high 22 points in a comeback victory at Oregon in which he knocked down a crucial fadeaway 3-pointer in the closing seconds.
When Ali’s game is clicking, he becomes one of the top scoring options on the team. The redshirt junior also shoots 4.6 percent better from deep than any other player in the Bruins’ starting five.
Starting frontcourt
Grade: B-
UCLA’s frontcourt is loaded with talent, but it has not produced the numbers that one would expect.
Sophomore guard Kris Wilkes – who starts at the small forward position – has not made any noticeable improvements in his game since last season, and he might even be going backward.
Despite leading the team in scoring at 17.3 points per game, Wilkes is shooting just 31.5 percent from 3. Last season, he shot 35.2 percent from beyond the arc.
Another reason for concern with Wilkes is he is supposed to be the primary scoring option for the Bruins. While playing second fiddle to Aaron Holiday last season, Wilkes managed to score 13.7 points per game, just 3.6 points lower than his current average.
If UCLA is going to make a run at a conference title in the second half of the season, it will need Wilkes to produce at a higher rate of efficiency.
Freshman center Moses Brown has been the bright spot of the Bruins’ frontcourt this season. The five-star freshman is averaging a near double-double at 11.9 points and nine rebounds per contest.
Despite looking unpolished at times, Brown has carved out a nice role as a rim-running center who consistently finishes with dunks and layups at the basket. He has also been a force on the defensive end with 2.2 blocks per game – good for third in the Pac-12.
Brown’s biggest weakness, however, is at the free throw line, where he shoots just 36.7 percent.
Bench
Grade: B+
No individual player off the bench has numbers that jump off the page, but the unit as a whole has been fun to watch – especially since the firing of Steve Alford in December.
Led by freshmen guards David Singleton and Jules Bernard, the bench unit has provided interim coach Murry Bartow a great amount of depth with a rotation that can go up to 11 players deep without missing a beat.
In years past, Alford clung to an eight-man rotation that had players seeing closer to 35 or 40 minutes of action per night, including games in which the Bruins were in full control down the stretch.
With so many reliable options to turn to off the bench, no UCLA player this season is averaging more than 30.6 minutes per game. Last season, the Bruins had two players averaging more than 33 minutes per game.
Coaching
Grade: A+
If this grade reflected the efforts of Alford it would be much lower, but for the sake of positivity, his time will not be included. His replacement, Murry Bartow, however, has done a fantastic job in his first few weeks as the interim head coach.
Bartow not only shifted the culture in a matter of days, but he has also been able to get the best out of each of his players.
In the four games he has coached, there have been three instances in which five or more players scored in double figures, which already equals the amount of times that happened in the 13 games under Alford this season.
Bartow also led UCLA to a 3-0 record to begin Pac-12 play – a feat Alford never achieved with the Bruins.
It is still unknown what will happen with Bartow after the season ends, but he will be the one credited for turning the program back in a positive direction.