Scouting report: No. 14 Arizona Wildcats vs. No. 3 UCLA Bruins
- Updated
Prepare for Arizona's game against UCLA on Saturday with Bruce Pascoe's in-depth scouting report.
- Bruce Pascoe
- Updated
Matchup: No. 14 Arizona (17-2, 6-0 Pac-12) at No. 3 UCLA (19-1, 6-1)
Location: Pauley Pavilion, Los Angeles
Time: 2 p.m.
TV: CBS
Radio: 1290-AM, 107.5-FM
- Bruce Pascoe
- Updated
The series: Bryce Alford had 25 points while making 5 of 11 3-pointers, including a game-winning three over Kaleb Tarczewski with three seconds left, to give the Bruins an 87-84 win over Arizona last season at Pauley Pavilion. However, the Wildcats also held serve in the regular-season series, beating the Bruins 81-75 at McKale Center by overcoming an 11-point second half deficit and holding UCLA to just 38.7-percent shooting after halftime.
- Bruce Pascoe
- Updated
Thanks to the infusion of talented freshmen Lonzo Ball and T.J. Leaf, the Bruins have made a remarkable turnaround from a 15-17 record last season that was so far under UCLA’s expectations that a plane flew over Westwood with a banner reading “Fire Alford!” Now, Ball’s uncanny passing skills and deceivingly good shooting has made his already offensively gifted teammates better. They run the nation’s 10th-fastest pace, and are the nation’s top team in offensive efficiency, averaging 124.3 points per 100 possessions. Ball averages 8.0 assists and a 3.5-1 assist-turnover ratio in conference games, while coach Steve Alford’s sharpshooting son, Bryce, is now able play fully off the ball instead of handling point guard duties as he did last season. Leaf is a versatile big man who can shoot from anywhere on the court. UCLA has a pair of athletic wings who can impact both sides of the floor in Isaac Hamilton and Aaron Holiday, while Thomas Welsh is a skilled big man with a face-up game. Alford, Leaf and Welsh all especially benefit from Ball’s passing.
- Bruce Pascoe
- Updated
Nobody is more directly responsible for the Bruins’ turnaround this season than Ball, and the NBA sees that. He’s projected as the No. 1 or No. 2 pick in the NBA Draft, having maximized the offensive talent that surrounds him at every position.
- Bruce Pascoe
- Updated
Ball’s size makes a potential matchup difficult for Parker Jackson-Cartwright, so Allen is likely to move over some of the time to try to disrupt Ball’s rhythm … that is, when he’s not trying to get a hand up over the shots of Isaac Hamilton or Bryce Alford.
- Bruce Pascoe
- Updated
“UCLA is capable of winning a national championship. I’ve been scouting the Pac-12 for 14 years and Lonzo Ball is the best point guard I’ve ever seen in the league since then. People say he can’t shoot but it’s going in, and with NBA range. Bryce Alford is at a completely different level … it’s all about Lonzo Ball taking point guard duties from him. T.J. Leaf we have a lot of respect for. He can shoot threes, he rebounds, crashes to the glass and he’s a good driver. He’s really a complete player. We have nothing but respect for him. Thomas Welsh is a good shooter and he really benefits from Lonzo Ball penetrating and dishing.” — UA associate head coach Joe Pasternack, who scouted the Bruins.
- Bruce Pascoe
- Updated
When Sean Miller misses out on a top recruiting target, it’s hardly unusual for him to have to scout and prepare to defend that guy a year or two later.
But T.J. Leaf wasn’t just another miss. The five-star San Diego-area forward was committed to play for the Wildcats from November 2014 to August 2015, before decommitting and choosing UCLA during the November 2015 signing period … and then blowing up as a freshman.
Yet, when asked Friday if scouting Leaf was more difficult for that reason, Miller expressed no bitterness.
“I don’t think we can take that personal,” Miller said. “T.J., in fairness to him, made a great decision. If you look at how he’s doing, and he’s from San Diego, he’s thriving, he’s doing better than maybe he would have expected and that’s to his credit.
“As a kid you want to make a right decision. Sometimes if you rush into a decision, that’s why they transfer. If you’re not completely sure, it’s smart to slow it down and do what he did. He comes from a great family. He’s a great kid. He was honest with us. And I think he genuinely liked Arizona but felt maybe it was in his best interest to go to UCLA. It’s hard to argue based on how he’s doing.”
Of course, Miller wound up doing pretty well with the power forward who essentially replaced Leaf in the 2016 recruiting class. His name is Lauri Markkanen.
- Bruce Pascoe
- Updated
As if there won’t be enough electricity at Pauley Pavilion on Saturday, with third-ranked UCLA hosting the 13th-ranked Wildcats before a national CBS audience, it will also be “Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Day.”
The Bruin legend and social/political activist will be honored prior to and at halftime of the UA-UCLA game after receiving the Presidential Medal of Freedom from Barack Obama last November.
““The reason we honor Kareem is more than just a pair of goggles and the skyhook,” Obama said upon bestowing the award. “He stood up for his Muslim faith when it wasn’t easy and wasn’t popular. He’s as comfortable sparring with Bruce Lee as he is advocating on Capitol Hill or writing with extraordinary eloquence on patriotism.”
Abdul-Jabbar is scheduled to attend a pregame reception and then address the Pauley crowd at halftime. “Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Day” posters will be handed out to fans, while UCLA students will receive T-shirts commemorating the occasion.
- Bruce Pascoe
- Updated
Finnish freshman Lauri Markkanen may be aware of UCLA’s history but he didn’t exactly grow up watching the Bruins.
Or any college team, really.
Markkanen said he never watched U.S. college basketball until he started considering playing it two years ago, being too focused own his own game to watch others that were being played 10 time zones away from Finland.
“I try to get better every day so you don’t want to risk getting up at 4 a.m. to watch games,” Markkanen said. “Of course, UCLA is a tough team and it means a lot to play against them. I knew about UCLA but I didn’t have time to watch the games.”
- Bruce Pascoe
- Updated
Isaac Hamilton hit nine 3-pointers Thursday against ASU to help UCLA easily reach 10 long-range bombs, the threshold for a promotion in which everyone at Pauley Pavilion received a free Chick-fil-A sandwich.
Only Hamilton probably would have had trouble eating one. He suffered a lacerated tongue during the game and was receiving stitches afterward.
The injury kept Hamilton from speaking with reporters Thursday night, according to the Los Angeles Times, but he is expected to play Saturday against Arizona.
- Bruce Pascoe
- Updated
10: Years since UA and UCLA have played when both are ranked in the Top 15; No. 3 UCLA beat No. 11 Arizona 73-69 in Los Angeles on Jan. 20, 2007, in Lute Olson’s final season with the Wildcats.
- Bruce Pascoe
- Updated
10: Of last 12 games in UCLA-UA series that have been decided by single digits.
- Bruce Pascoe
- Updated
172: Dollars asked Friday for the cheapest lower-level seat for the UA-UCLA game on ticket reseller StubHub.
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- Bruce Pascoe
The series: Bryce Alford had 25 points while making 5 of 11 3-pointers, including a game-winning three over Kaleb Tarczewski with three seconds left, to give the Bruins an 87-84 win over Arizona last season at Pauley Pavilion. However, the Wildcats also held serve in the regular-season series, beating the Bruins 81-75 at McKale Center by overcoming an 11-point second half deficit and holding UCLA to just 38.7-percent shooting after halftime.
- Bruce Pascoe
Thanks to the infusion of talented freshmen Lonzo Ball and T.J. Leaf, the Bruins have made a remarkable turnaround from a 15-17 record last season that was so far under UCLA’s expectations that a plane flew over Westwood with a banner reading “Fire Alford!” Now, Ball’s uncanny passing skills and deceivingly good shooting has made his already offensively gifted teammates better. They run the nation’s 10th-fastest pace, and are the nation’s top team in offensive efficiency, averaging 124.3 points per 100 possessions. Ball averages 8.0 assists and a 3.5-1 assist-turnover ratio in conference games, while coach Steve Alford’s sharpshooting son, Bryce, is now able play fully off the ball instead of handling point guard duties as he did last season. Leaf is a versatile big man who can shoot from anywhere on the court. UCLA has a pair of athletic wings who can impact both sides of the floor in Isaac Hamilton and Aaron Holiday, while Thomas Welsh is a skilled big man with a face-up game. Alford, Leaf and Welsh all especially benefit from Ball’s passing.
- Bruce Pascoe
Nobody is more directly responsible for the Bruins’ turnaround this season than Ball, and the NBA sees that. He’s projected as the No. 1 or No. 2 pick in the NBA Draft, having maximized the offensive talent that surrounds him at every position.
- Bruce Pascoe
Ball’s size makes a potential matchup difficult for Parker Jackson-Cartwright, so Allen is likely to move over some of the time to try to disrupt Ball’s rhythm … that is, when he’s not trying to get a hand up over the shots of Isaac Hamilton or Bryce Alford.
- Bruce Pascoe
“UCLA is capable of winning a national championship. I’ve been scouting the Pac-12 for 14 years and Lonzo Ball is the best point guard I’ve ever seen in the league since then. People say he can’t shoot but it’s going in, and with NBA range. Bryce Alford is at a completely different level … it’s all about Lonzo Ball taking point guard duties from him. T.J. Leaf we have a lot of respect for. He can shoot threes, he rebounds, crashes to the glass and he’s a good driver. He’s really a complete player. We have nothing but respect for him. Thomas Welsh is a good shooter and he really benefits from Lonzo Ball penetrating and dishing.” — UA associate head coach Joe Pasternack, who scouted the Bruins.
- Bruce Pascoe
When Sean Miller misses out on a top recruiting target, it’s hardly unusual for him to have to scout and prepare to defend that guy a year or two later.
But T.J. Leaf wasn’t just another miss. The five-star San Diego-area forward was committed to play for the Wildcats from November 2014 to August 2015, before decommitting and choosing UCLA during the November 2015 signing period … and then blowing up as a freshman.
Yet, when asked Friday if scouting Leaf was more difficult for that reason, Miller expressed no bitterness.
“I don’t think we can take that personal,” Miller said. “T.J., in fairness to him, made a great decision. If you look at how he’s doing, and he’s from San Diego, he’s thriving, he’s doing better than maybe he would have expected and that’s to his credit.
“As a kid you want to make a right decision. Sometimes if you rush into a decision, that’s why they transfer. If you’re not completely sure, it’s smart to slow it down and do what he did. He comes from a great family. He’s a great kid. He was honest with us. And I think he genuinely liked Arizona but felt maybe it was in his best interest to go to UCLA. It’s hard to argue based on how he’s doing.”
Of course, Miller wound up doing pretty well with the power forward who essentially replaced Leaf in the 2016 recruiting class. His name is Lauri Markkanen.
- Bruce Pascoe
As if there won’t be enough electricity at Pauley Pavilion on Saturday, with third-ranked UCLA hosting the 13th-ranked Wildcats before a national CBS audience, it will also be “Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Day.”
The Bruin legend and social/political activist will be honored prior to and at halftime of the UA-UCLA game after receiving the Presidential Medal of Freedom from Barack Obama last November.
““The reason we honor Kareem is more than just a pair of goggles and the skyhook,” Obama said upon bestowing the award. “He stood up for his Muslim faith when it wasn’t easy and wasn’t popular. He’s as comfortable sparring with Bruce Lee as he is advocating on Capitol Hill or writing with extraordinary eloquence on patriotism.”
Abdul-Jabbar is scheduled to attend a pregame reception and then address the Pauley crowd at halftime. “Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Day” posters will be handed out to fans, while UCLA students will receive T-shirts commemorating the occasion.
- Bruce Pascoe
Finnish freshman Lauri Markkanen may be aware of UCLA’s history but he didn’t exactly grow up watching the Bruins.
Or any college team, really.
Markkanen said he never watched U.S. college basketball until he started considering playing it two years ago, being too focused own his own game to watch others that were being played 10 time zones away from Finland.
“I try to get better every day so you don’t want to risk getting up at 4 a.m. to watch games,” Markkanen said. “Of course, UCLA is a tough team and it means a lot to play against them. I knew about UCLA but I didn’t have time to watch the games.”
- Bruce Pascoe
Isaac Hamilton hit nine 3-pointers Thursday against ASU to help UCLA easily reach 10 long-range bombs, the threshold for a promotion in which everyone at Pauley Pavilion received a free Chick-fil-A sandwich.
Only Hamilton probably would have had trouble eating one. He suffered a lacerated tongue during the game and was receiving stitches afterward.
The injury kept Hamilton from speaking with reporters Thursday night, according to the Los Angeles Times, but he is expected to play Saturday against Arizona.
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