With back-to-back Final Four appearances, coach Ben Howland and the Bruins made it clear they are much more than just a good team that made a run deep in the tournament ““ they are among the nation’s elite and are a perennial contender to take home a national title.
Despite the two frustrating losses to Florida, UCLA basketball has again become synonymous with winning, returning to the program’s traditional prominence.
The Bruins’ lineup is comprised of players with experience winning in high-pressure situations.
“We have very hard workers,” Howland said. “Our sophomore class only knows Final Fours. Our junior class has gone back-to-back.”
Next season is expected to be another big year for the Bruins, with a lot of hype surrounding the program and expectations to match. There is an influx of new talent and some big questions about who will return, making the offseason wildly important for the makeup of a team hoping not to miss a beat on their recent tournament success.
“Hopefully (we will) keep the Final Four runs going and use young guys to build the program,” sophomore forward Josh Shipp said.
The big questions about the offseason surround which older players will be around to lead the team. Even before the Bruins’ tournament run concluded there was speculation over whether junior guard Arron Afflalo would forgo his senior year for the NBA. Comments Afflalo made after the Final Four made it seem like he was not done in Westwood, but his future is still very much in doubt.
There is also the possibility of sophomore point guard Darren Collison going the rout of Afflalo in 2006, when the guard declared for the draft to test the waters but did not sign with an agent. Afflalo eventually returned to school.
For the moment at least, Collison was focused only on his future in Pauley Pavilion.
“We’re definitely looking forward toward the offseason and improving for next year,” he said.
In terms of people coming instead of going, Howland is a wealthy coach.
Next year’s team is expected to get a big boost with the arrival of the highly touted recruit out of Oregon in Kevin Love.
Although junior center Lorenzo Mata and sophomore forward Alfred Aboya have made big strides in the paint, the inside game has been pinpointed as an area for offseason work. UCLA will look to become a dominant force inside to get them over the hump and cut down the nets at the Final Four next year.
“That will be our offseason focus: to improve on the inside,” Aboya said.
Love, who was recently named Parade magazine’s player of the year, should be a very large piece of that improvement.
The 6-foot-10-inch center/forward out of Lake Oswego High School is the biggest recruit to come to Westwood in quite some time and is expected to have an immediate impact on offense, defense and on the glass.
This past season, Love averaged 37 points and 15 rebounds per game. He ended his high school career with a total of 2,628 points, good enough to break a 50-year-old state record.
Love is not the only big recruit headed to UCLA this fall. Guard Chase Stanback out of Fairfax High School will be a very talented addition to the Bruin backcourt.
Stanback led his team to both city and state championships and will stay close to home when he starts his career as a Bruin.
While it is unclear exactly who will be around from this year’s Final Four team, a couple of other things are very clear.
Whoever stays will be playing alongside one of the most-hyped recruits UCLA has ever welcomed, and they will be playing for one of the best teams in the country.
With reports from Sagar Parikh, Bruin Sports senior staff.