Moving from the 14th-leading scorer in last year’s campaign to the second-leading scorer this year, sophomore attacker Max Irving has stepped into one of the leading offensive roles for No. 1 UCLA (22-0, 6-0 Mountain Pacific Sports Federation).
Irving has established himself as one of the biggest offensive threats for the undefeated Bruins and has already surpassed his 2014 scoring record by doubling the total number of goals scored.
“Max was born with a lot of ability. He has the ability to move unbelievably in the water,” said coach Adam Wright. “He can shoot the ball well, he can play defense, but the reality is, he’s still growing. We talk about a mentality and he’s starting to find that, and now you’re starting to see more confidence in him.”
Irving, a starter for the Bruins this season, has scored in 17 of 22 games played so far. In the most recent game against No. 2 Pacific, the sophomore attacker scored a pair of goals, his 33rd.
“Max has put in a lot of work and a lot of time into developing himself,” said junior attacker Ryder Roberts. “Adam’s done an incredible job, that’s what he does really well. He develops players into the best players they can be.”
Irving was one of the key players in the game against Pacific in which he was able to give the Bruins their first lead of the game at the end of the first quarter.
“I think honestly Max Irving’s one of the better shooters in the country right now and all around he’s a really good player,” Roberts said. “And if he keeps going, it’s going to be scary for other teams to guard him.”
Irving has tied his single-game career goal record of four goals three times this season, his latest being against then No. 7 UC Irvine on Oct. 25.
“He’s been huge for us,” Wright said. “In the last three weeks he’s done a tremendous job, but it’s a credit back to training with the right mentality.”
The depth as a player, both offensively and defensively, that Irving has shown so far in this year’s season has propelled him into becoming a threat in the water.
“We’ve had so many talks about who he can become, and he’s starting to go in the right way now,” Wright said.
With an undefeated record resting on their shoulders and a reigning NCAA championship title, Irving and the Bruins face the many challenges of being the top-ranked team. However, by focusing on practice and training, UCLA has put emphasis on sticking to the basic fundamentals and focusing on its style of play.
“We try to put an internal pressure on ourselves to try to do the best every day in practice and when we play in the games,” Irving said. “We just try to improve with every game and do the best we can.”