UCLA Men's Basketball: Men's Basketball Arrives in Australia

AUGUST 21, 2016 | UCLA MEN'S BASKETBALL WEBSITE | ARTICLE LINK

Bruins arrive in Sydney on Sunday morning after 15-hour flight from Los Angeles.

For the UCLA men's basketball program, the first leg of this weekend's journey to Australia indicated that this isn't going to be a regular road trip.
 
Not only did the nonstop 15-hour, 7,500-mile flight involve travel to another country, but the Bruins crossed the international dateline over the Pacific Ocean, thereby never seeing their Saturday. UCLA's flight on Qantas Airways departed from Los Angeles International Airport around 11:30 p.m. on Friday evening and touched down in Sydney at 7 a.m., local time, on Sunday.
 
"It's such a unique experience when you talk about travel," UCLA head coach Steve Alford said. "We never experienced Saturday because of the substantial time change. But Sydney is a very special place, and we're looking forward to our guys getting out in the city to see places like the Sydney Opera House and the Sydney Harbour Bridge."
 
Since the program's most recent foreign trip – to China in Aug. 2012 – UCLA's team has certainly accrued its fair share of airline miles. Between in-season trips to the Bahamas (2014), Maui (2015), Chicago (2014), Louisville (2015), Houston (2015) and three getaways to New York City in the last four seasons, the Bruins have become a well-traveled group.
 
In fact, since February 2015, the Bruins have played in all four time zones across the continental United States.
 
"College is a special, educational time in the lives of our young men," Coach Alford said. "So our guys at UCLA are going to get that piece of it, whether it's them traveling to the East Coast in our own country, or going to the Bahamas or Maui. And now in this case, they're able to visit Sydney and Melbourne and the Gold Coast."
 
Having the opportunity to take an off-season foreign trip, as permitted by the NCAA once every four years, will provide this year's team more room for growth as the Bruins continue to gel after several weeks of off-season workouts.
 
"You bring a team like this to a different part of the world so they can get different experiences each and every day," Coach Alford said. "From a team standpoint, you're going to see a different part of the world. You get to be together, to hang with each other, and hopefully we'll see our guys build that trust with each other. That's the biggest thing we'd like to see. And secondly, there's a great educational opportunity with seeing a different part of the world and being able to learn about their culture."
 
Now getting acclimated to a new time zone and different surroundings – and slightly cooler weather – the Bruins will wake up Monday knowing they have three exhibition games on the horizon against Australian teams. Practice is in order for the team on Monday afternoon.
 
As far as games are concerned? Up first, a Tuesday night contest against Sydney University (7:30 pm in Australia, 2:30 am in Los Angeles). Also in the schedule are evening games against Melbourne United on Aug. 27 and the Brisbane Bullets on Aug. 29. UCLA will return to Los Angeles on Wednesday, Aug. 31.
 
As for their first day in Australia, the Bruins headed from the airport to the Coogee Bay Hotel for breakfast before taking a walk across the street to the bay. Described as a classic suburban beach, Coogee also served as a perfect backdrop for players and coaches to take photos and stretch their legs after the long flight and morning meal.
 
UCLA continued its first day in Sydney with a visit to the Taronga Zoo, now celebrating its 100th year as a city zoo in Sydney. With wildlife and exhibits featuring over 2,600 individual animals, Taronga Zoo gave the Bruins a chance to see swamp wallabies, red kangaroos, koalas, emus, Tazmanian devils, and laughing kookaburras, among others, at close distances.
 
The late afternoon hours provided the team with a chance to check into its hotel in Sydney, unpack and rest before dinner at Nick's, a seafood restaurant overlooking Darling Harbour in Sydney.
 
While the players will be adjusting to a new time zone as they get their first night of sleep in Australia – the time zone in Sydney and Melbourne runs 17 hours ahead of the Pacific Time Zone – one itinerary item in particular penciled in for Monday could provide quite the thrill for those who are not afraid of heights.
 
Be sure to check out Monday's adventures by following the Bruins' basketball program on its social media channels in addition to uclabruins.com. Follow "UCLAMBB" on Twitter (@UCLAMBB), Instagram (UCLAMBB), Facebook (facebook.com/uclamensbasketball) and Snapchat (uclambb).
 

UCLA Down Under

Post updated Aug 22 2016 5:32 am


Schedule of games:

Aug 23 vs. Sydney Univ
Aug 27 vs. Melbourne United 
Aug 29 vs Brisbane Bullets

For more info on the Aussie trip, check out "Men's Basketball Set for Trip to Australia."

From UCLA Men's Basketball Facebook page (link): "After a 15-hour flight from Los Angeles, the Bruins made it to Sydney! UCLA's 10-day trip through Australia began on Sunday morning, and the team's excited to get its excursion underway."

ESPN: In crucial season, UCLA will lean on its freshmen

UCLA freshmen T.J. Leaf, left, and Lonzo Ball were both ranked among RecruitingNation's top 15 players in the Class of 2016. Brian Spurlock/USA TODAY Sports

by MYRON MEDCALF |  

Aug-18-2016 | ESPN.COM | ARTICLE LINK 

Newcomers don't take long to impact college basketball -- not in this world of one-and-dones and transfers. Over a two-week span, we will look at the top five newcomers in each of the 10 biggest conferences. Next up is the Pac-12.

Within the scrum of the 2015-16 season, the Pac-12's entry of seven members to the NCAA tournament pool seemed surprising by season's end.

The turbulence in the league kept the race hot until Oregon subverted the field late and won both the league and tournament titles. The Ducks alone advanced beyond the first weekend in the NCAA tournament. Yet the conference salvaged its rep by securing three of the top 10 slots in the NBA draft (Cal's Jaylen Brown, Washington's Marquese Chriss and Utah's Jakob Poeltl), and four within the first round (the San Antonio Spurs picked Washington's Dejounte Murray at No. 29).

The league will again boast some of the most talented players in America within its pool of newcomers.

Lonzo Ball, UCLA Bruins

It's not clear how coach Steve Alford, who is undoubtedly on the hot seat, will balance the minutes between Bryce Alford -- his son and the team's ambitious veteran point guard -- and Ball (No. 4 in the 2016 class per RecruitingNation), a 6-foot-6 prodigy point guard whose major in Westwood should be "NBA future."

It is clear, however, that Ball's production will factor into UCLA's decision about its head coach's future. The hot-seat talk that boiled late last season simmered as UCLA's fuming backers remembered the load of incoming talent that would soon reach the Westwood campus. Ball's versatility, size and skills will be added to a UCLA program that could contend for the Pac-12 title a year after missing the postseason.

He's not worried about minutes or lineups, either. Ball recently told ESPN.com that the Bruins have a "championship mindset" now that they've battled and bled together in summer pickup runs (and an upcoming trip to Austrailia). That's a great sign and the right attitude. Yet, Ball didn't come to UCLA to play a backup or secondary role. He's a leader, distributor and finisher. That's the combo that could elevate the program again. He's a star. He knows it. His team knows it. And soon, the rest of the country will, too.

Markelle Fultz, Washington Huskies

Since he arrived in Seattle in 2002, coach Lorenzo Romar has developed nine players who were selected in the first round of the NBA draft, including two in June. Fultz (seventh in the 2016 class per RecruitingNation) is an early contender for the top spot in next summer's draft. Michael Porter Jr., the Washington commit ranked fourth in the 2017 class per RecruitingNation, should extend Romar's streak in 2018.

The 6-4 Fultz will lead a squad that lost its top three scorers from last season but returns multiple players from a team that featured 11 underclassmen in 2015-16. He's a big, explosive, athletic point guard who will leave early if he, as expected, delivers a season filled with big numbers and a flurry of highlights.

"Markelle is a dynamic guard," Romar told the Seattle Times after Fultz signed with the program in November. "There's not anything he can't do on the basketball floor. He can go up and jump over the top of you and dunk it. He can dunk on a 6-10, 6-11 guy. He can really pass the ball. He's gotten now to where he can shoot the ball really well."

T.J. Leaf, UCLA Bruins

If Alford shows up to UCLA's midnight madness wearing a "How do you like me now?" shirt as he rolls out his new recruiting class, who could be mad at him? A disgruntled fan flew a "Fire Coach Alford!" banner over his campus this summer. He responded to the backlash by returning a year of his contract extension. Now he has Ball and Leaf, the 6-9 power forward ranked 13th in the freshman class by RecruitingNation, and multiple veterans.

The Leaf-Thomas Welsh frontcourt will rival any unit in the Pac-12. Welsh is a sturdier interior presence. Leaf's athleticism is his best asset. He's the type to windmill a dunk, take his man off the dribble or pivot in the lane and score on a hook. He'll challenge, block and alter shots on the defensive end. A UCLA defense that plummeted to 140th in adjusted efficiency per KenPom.com last season needs an agile big man to solve its greatest challenge: pick-and-roll defense. Leaf will help there. He'll give Alford and Ball a target for alley-oops and entry passes, too.

Ray Smith, Arizona Wildcats

You could argue that other Arizona newcomers belong in this spot. All three five-star recruits (Lauri Markkanen, Kobi Simmons and Rawle Alkins) deserve consideration. All three could end the season as the Pac-12's most productive newcomer. But Smith has an advantage: time.

When Smith (No. 29 in the 2015 class per RecruitingNation) tore his ACL in his right knee before last season -- he sat out his senior year of high school because of a torn ACL in his left knee -- Arizona lost a prospect who would have helped coach Sean Miller's program in 2015-16. That didn't happen.

But that loss will help both Miller and Smith in 2016-17. He has spent a year in the program and learned the system. He's not naïve to Miller's persistent demands, and he has added weight to his 6-8 frame. That's why talk of a lottery pick isn't crazy. The most important newcomer on Arizona's roster could be the redshirt freshman who lost a year in 2015-16 but should help the Wildcats fight for the Pac-12 championship in 2015-16.

Shannon Evans, Arizona State Sun Devils

Yes, coach Bobby Hurley lost Savon Goodman (9.6 points, 6.4 rebounds per game) and Andre Spight (6.6 points) this offseason. But their decisions to transfer did not disrupt his plan to turn Arizona State into a basketball power. He signed the No. 16 class in the country per RecruitingNation. It's a group that's anchored by three top-100 prospects.

Those youngsters will help next season. But Evans, who transferred from Buffalo before the 2015-16 campaign, is the Arizona State newcomer to watch. He made 38 percent of his 3-pointers and 80 percent of his free throws in 2014-15. He also scored 15 points (5-for-9 shooting) in a first-round loss to West Virginia in the NCAA tournament that year.

His postseason experience and maturity will help an ASU squad that will rely on its incoming freshman and demand a greater contribution from Tra Holder. The new faces are part of Hurley's rebuilding plans. Evans, who has two years of remaining eligibility, gives his former coach at Buffalo additional time to develop those young talents.

Men's Basketball Set for Trip to Australia

august 15, 2016 | ucla MEN'S BASKETBALL website | ARTICLE LINK

The UCLA men's basketball program will travel to Australia from Aug. 19-31, playing three games over the course of a 10-day trip to Sydney, Melbourne and Gold Coast.
 
The Bruins will play Sydney University on Tuesday, Aug. 23, at Sydney University's Brydens Stadium at 7:30 p.m. local time (2:30 a.m. on Tuesday in Los Angeles). UCLA's second game will be versus Melbourne United of Australia's National Basketball League (NBL) on Saturday, Aug. 27, at the State Basketball Centre. Game time is slated for 7 p.m. local time (2 a.m. on Saturday in Los Angeles).
 
UCLA's final game, versus the NBL's Brisbane Bullets, will take place Monday, Aug. 29. The contest against Brisbane at Logan Metro Indoor Sports Centre will begin at 7 p.m. local time (2 a.m. in Los Angeles).
 
"This is an exciting opportunity for our team to have a new cultural experience while also being able to measure our game against some very good Australian competition," UCLA head coach Steve Alford said. "With college programs allowed to take a foreign trip once every four years, our time in Australia is that rare chance for us to travel abroad as a team, and we're going to take full advantage to make sure, as a an entire group, that we grow together both on the basketball court and away from the gym.  This trip is a wonderful way to cap off an extremely productive summer."
 
Updated information about online video streams of UCLA's games in Australia will be provided closer to the game dates. The cities in which UCLA will visit observe Australian Eastern Standard Time, which is 17 hours ahead of the Pacific Time Zone in the United States.
 
In addition to playing three basketball games, UCLA's student-athletes, coaches and support staff will have the chance to experience several cultural opportunities in Sydney, Melbourne and Gold Coast. Some of the trips highlights in Sydney will include visits to Coogee Beach and the Taronga Zoo, a tour of the Sydney Opera House and travel by ferry to Watson's Bay.
 
Off-court activities in Melbourne will include a visit to the 88-story-high Eureka Skydeck and tours of Rod Laver Arena (home to the Australian Open tennis tournament) and the Melbourne Cricket Grounds and National Sports Museum.
 
The third stint of UCLA's stay in Australia includes travel to Gold Coast (just south of Brisbane), where the Bruins will have opportunities to visit the Currumblin Wildlife Park and Surfer's Paradise along the Gold Coast beach.
 
UCLA's most recent offseason foreign trip took place in August 2012, when the Bruins visited Beijing and Shanghai in China as part of a Pac-12 goodwill tour.
 
Regular updates of the men's basketball team's travels in Australia will be provided on uclabruins.com, as well as the team's social media channels – Twitter (@UCLAMBB), Instagram (UCLAMBB) and Facebook (facebook.com/uclamensbasketball).

Jonah Bolden signs with Serbia’s FMP, eyes 2017 NBA Draft – sources

by OLGUN ULUC |  

Aug-14-2016 | Source: FOX SPORTS.AU 

| Article link 

AUSTRALIAN small forward Jonah Bolden has signed a one-year deal with Serbian club, FMP, sources told foxsports.com.au.

FMP is owned by Red Star Belgrade, and it’s rumoured that the Euroleague club is controlling Bolden’s signing, with an eye toward grooming him for their Euroleague squad next year, should he not be on an NBA roster, sources said.

FMP is coached by Slobodan Klipa, and competes in both the ABA League, and the Basketball League of Serbia.

Bolden is an automatic entry for the 2017 NBA Draft.

Bolden withdrew from UCLA at the end of July, with the 20-year-old citing the lack of development opportunities as the reason he left Steve Alford’s program.

The 6’10 Bolden, who was born in Melbourne before moving to Sydney, played 31 games as a freshman for the Bruins, starting in 11; averaging 4.6 points and 4.8 rebounds in 21.7 minutes per game.

At the beginning of August, Bolden spoke with foxsports.com.au about his decision to sign in Europe for his single professional year before declaring for the 2017 NBA Draft.

“I just felt like Europe is the best option for me,” Bolden said.

“Obviously, I can’t just go to the NBA, so I had to choose one of the options. College wasn’t an option for me because I would’ve had to sit out.

“Then I thought of the next thing, maybe coming back home; but it wasn’t really an option because I’ve lived here, and I feel like, for me, the leagues in Europe are getting better, and the coaching there is phenomenal. I’ll be going up against bigger, stronger, smarter guys who could teach me day-to-day.”

Bolden has already flown out of Sydney, Australia to join his new team.

Jonah Bolden curiously leaves UCLA basketball team to turn pro

Jonah Bolden #43 of the UCLA Bruins and Isaiah Hicks #4 of the North Carolina Tar Heels battle for the ball during their game at the CBS Sports Classic at the Barclays Center on December 19, 2015 in New York City. (Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images) 

By Clay Fowler, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin

POSTED: 07/26/16, 8:45 PM PDT | UPDATED: 2 WEEKS, 4 DAYS AGO

     |         article link

UCLA's Jonah Bolden blocks a shot by Arizona State's Willie Atwood in the second half of an NCAA college basketball game in Los Angeles, Saturday, Jan. 9, 2016. UCLA won 81-74. (AP Photo/Michael Owen Baker) 

UCLA junior Jonah Bolden has decided forego his final two years of college basketball eligibility and play professionally this coming season.

Bolden informed the coaching staff of his decision to leave the school after one season, the UCLA athletic department announced Tuesday.

Where the 6-foot-10 Australian-born guard/forward will play professionally is uncertain, but a return to his home country seems an obvious possibility.

UCLA is now without three players that were expected to be on the roster this year, not including guard Prince Ali, who isn’t likely to return from meniscus surgery by the start of the season. Three-star recruit Kobe Paras mysteriously withdrew from UCLA in June after academic conditions of his admission weren’t met. Junior Noah Allen transferred to Hawaii in May and now Bolden is departing what was expected to be a deep roster considering incoming talent labeled head coach Steve Alford’s best recruiting class.

Bolden emerged late last season to start 11 games, averaging 4.6 points and 4.8 rebounds during his lone season in Westwood. Considering his promising path at UCLA, turning pro is something of a curious decision for the budding talent with NBA potential. The timing is certainly strange, considering Bolden could have declared for the 2016 NBA draft after last season.

His height, athleticism and perimeter shooting skills seemingly make him a perfect fit in what figures to be an up-tempo offense to be led by five-star freshman point guard Lonzo Ball.

UCLA’s other touted incoming freshman, forward T.J. Leaf, was certainly a threat to Bolden’s playing time.

Bolden missed the entire 2014-15 season after the NCAA ruled him academically ineligible following his move from Australia to Las Vegas to attend Findlay Prep. But there has been no word on any academic issues for Bolden that would affect this coming season.

Bolden departed Findlay Prep in December of 2013 to finish his senior year of high school at Brewster Academy in New Hampshire, which won the National Prep Championship that season.

Bolden was rated the No. 32 recruit in the country by rivals.com and the No. 5 power forward in the nation by scout.com.

Earl Watson on Coach John Wooden

Published by UCLA Athletics on Jun 27, 2016

Phoenix Suns head coach remembers the UCLA coaching legend.

LaVar And Tina Ball on Lonzo becoming a Bruin

Published by UCLA Athletics on Jun 27, 2016. 

2016 Wooden Legacy Bracket Revealed

JULY 14, 2016 | MEN'S BASKETBALL | ARTICLE LINK

2016 Wooden Legacy on ESPN 

LOS ANGELES – The UCLA men's basketball team will take on Portland in its first game of the 2016 DIRECTV Wooden Legacy at Cal State Fullerton's Titan Gym on Thursday, Nov. 24.

UCLA's game versus Portland will be nationally televised on ESPN2, slated for tipoff at 8 p.m. (PT). The eight-team bracket was announced Thursday by ESPN Events.

The Bruins will face either Dayton or Nebraska on Thursday, Nov. 25 in Titan Gym. The four teams on the opposite side of the bracket from UCLA include CSUN, New Mexico, Texas A&M and Virginia Tech. UCLA will play one of those four schools on Sunday, Nov. 27, at the Honda Center in Anaheim. Prior to the Wooden Legacy (Nov. 24-27), UCLA will open its season with four non-conference home games.

Under the direction of fourth-year head coach Steve Alford, the Bruins are set to return four of five starters from last season's team – seniors Bryce Alford (16.1 ppg) and Isaac Hamilton (16.8 ppg), junior Thomas Welsh (11.2 ppg, 8.5 rpg) and sophomore Aaron Holiday (10.3 ppg). UCLA went 15-17 last year, compiling a 6-12 record in Pac-12 play. The Bruins will play in the Wooden Legacy for the first time since the tournament adopted its current format in 2013-14. UCLA last competed in the Orange County-based tournament in Nov. 2009, when the 76 Classic took place at the Anaheim Convention Center.

Portland went 12-20 last year, going 6-12 in the West Coast Conference. The Pilots finished eighth out of 10 teams in the regular season West Coast Conference standings. Portland is led by Terry Porter, who enters his first season as the Pilots' head coach in 2016-17.

All-session ticket packages are currently available by clicking here. Ticket packages can also be ordered by calling (310) UCLA-WIN (825-2946).

DIRECTV Wooden Legacy Schedule

Thursday, Nov. 24 – Titan Gym (Fullerton, Calif.)
Game 1 – Texas A&M vs. CSUN – 11 a.m. (ESPN3)
Game 2 – New Mexico vs. Virginia Tech – 1:30 p.m. (ESPN)
Game 3 – Dayton vs. Nebraska – 5:30 p.m. (ESPNU)
Game 4 – Portland vs. UCLA – 8 p.m. (ESPN2)

Friday, Nov. 25 – Titan Gym (Fullerton, Calif.)
Game 5 – Texas A&M/CSUN losing team vs. New Mexico/Virginia Tech losing team – 12 p.m. (ESPNU)
Game 6 – Texas A&M/CSUN winning team vs. New Mexico/Virginia Tech winning team – 2:30 p.m. (ESPN2)
Game 7 – Dayton/Nebraska losing team vs. Portland/UCLA losing team – 6:30 p.m. (ESPN3)
Game 8 – Dayton/Nebraska winning team vs. Portland/UCLA winning team – 9 p.m. (ESPN2)

Sunday, Nov. 27 – Honda Center (Anaheim, Calif.)
Game 9 – Game 5 and Game 7 winning teams – 11 a.m. (ESPNU)
Game 10 – Game 6 and Game 8 losing teams – 1 p.m. (ESPNU)
Game 11 – Championship Game – Game 6 and Game 8 winning teams – 5:30 p.m. (ESPN)
Game 12 – Game 5 and Game 7 losing teams – 8 p.m. (ESPNU)