College basketball insider Jon Rothstein sees UCLA as one player away
College basketball insider Jon Rothstein views next year's UCLA Bruin team as a team one key contributor away from being an elite squad.
It’s true that the UCLA Bruins didn’t have the flashiest offseason ever in terms of roster additions, but the Bruins didn’t lose much either. With Skyy Clark turning to professional basketball , UCLA didn’t lose any players with scholarships to the transfer portal. It won’t be easy for Mick Cronin and the Bruins to replace the experience of Clark, Tyler Bilodeau and Donovan Dent, but UCLA will have plenty of other returning pieces.
Trent Perry, Eric Freeny, Xavier Booker, Brandon Williams and Eric Dailey Jr. are all set to return for the Bruins. That continuity could help UCLA’s new transfers get up to speed and put the Bruins in a position to potentially compete in the Big Ten Conference next season.
College basketball reporter Jon Rothstein said Monday that he views UCLA as one impact player away from being an elite team next season. “UCLA, with the roster it’s projected with right now, in my opinion can be a back-end top-25 team. Probably comparable to what we’ve seen the last two years under Mick Cronin.
Good enough to make the NCAA tournament, probably good enough to win a game,” Rothstein said. “Beyond that, UCLA is going to need to add a potential All-Conference caliber player. ” UCLA --- who did not lose a single scholarship player to the Transfer Portal --- is one impact player away from being a Top 10-15 team to start next season.