Over three months after UCLA men’s basketball began practicing for this season, freshman guard/forward Jonah Bolden took the court with his team for the first time Monday.
Ruled a partial qualifier for the season by the NCAA after complications arose when he transferred high schools during his senior season, Bolden was officially cleared by the NCAA to return to practice Monday.
“(It felt) really good,” Bolden said. “I haven’t been doing five-on-five on a day-to-day basis up against guys my height, my weight, so it’s good.”
Despite not practicing with the team, Bolden has been keeping busy, working out and practicing on his own and with assistant coach Ed Schilling. The individual practices allowed Bolden to focus completely on developing his game, and he said his goals this year are to bulk up and add strength to his lean frame, as well as add some guard skills to his game.
Bolden said he is transitioning from playing power forward in high school to playing a hybrid guard/forward position at the next level. Aiding him in that switch is the opportunity to watch fellow freshman forward Kevon Looney, who has a somewhat similar style of play.
“I can kind of relate to the way he plays, getting rebounds, going coast to coast, hitting 3s here and there,” Bolden said.
Sitting out from both games and practices was difficult, Bolden said, but helping him through that process has been what he’s gained from watching his teammates play.
Bolden has not only learned things from watching Looney and the Bruins play, he’s used what he’s seen to help his teammates improve.
“I was even ineligible to sit on the bench before so I was sitting in the stands, so it’s kind of good being able to sit away and watch and have the outsiders point of view and then come back be able to help my teammates,” Bolden said. “Give them what I saw from an outside point of view in contrast to a bench player or someone that’s on the court.”
Despite his ability to now practice with the team, Bolden is still unable to play in games this season, and with his NBA aspirations, there’s a chance Bolden could elect to enter the 2015 NBA draft and not return to Westwood next season. For now, though, he’s just focused on his current team.
“Most definitely my goal is the NBA but my main priority right now is here at UCLA,” Bolden said.
Welsh’s first starts
With starting center Tony Parker sidelined with back spasms last week, freshman center Thomas Welsh made his first two career starts against Oregon State and Oregon to mixed results.
In two games, Welsh totaled 12 points, 11 rebounds and two blocks – all above his season averages – but also looked tentative to exert his strength. Welsh looked hesitant to get physical in the paint and set hard screens against Oregon, with sophomore guard Bryce Alford often directing Welsh to set more picks.
“If you ask our guys, the one guy they don’t wanna bang into in practice is Thomas, so we’re trying to convince him to make sure opponents are saying that too,” said coach Steve Alford. “Right now, he’s going away from contact and contact is hitting him … I think once he figures that out to go make contact first … I think you’ll see Thomas go to a whole (different) level.”
Welsh acknowledged he needs to improve his physicality down low, noting that his propensity for shooting jump shots has also caused him to drift further away from the paint.
“I think that’s definitely big for me as a center, being able to play around the hoop,” Welsh said. “I think I’m pretty good at those 15-foot jump shots but I want to make sure that, as a center, I’m able to get down in the low post and bang people on offense and defense, get rebounds.”
Steve Alford said Parker is day-to-day and would have a limited role in Thursday’s game against Utah if he’s healthy enough to play, opening the door for Welsh to potentially start once again. Parker participated in practice Tuesday, but only in non-contact drills.