Through Oct. 31, Sports Illustrated will count down its preseason college basketball Top 25 with overviews of each team. Here are the full rankings so far.
UCLA’s first season in the Big Ten represented a pretty big bounce back from a miserable 2023–24, getting back to the NCAA tournament and winning a game while there. It was a group that mirrored many classic Mick Cronin teams at Cincinnati: tough, physical, grind-it-out hoops with just enough juice on the offensive end to get over the finish line. Outside of an ugly four-game losing streak in early January that featured a pair of Cronin press conference blowups, this was a very good basketball team … and a handful of key pieces are back for another year.
Tyler Bilodeau gave the UCLA frontcourt a much-needed offensive jolt. He’s an effective scorer from inside and out, shooting 40% from deep last season and even playing some small-ball center at times. Eric Dailey Jr. is a terror in the open court who showed flashes of what made him so highly touted out of high school. And in the backcourt, Skyy Clark has blossomed into an outstanding 3-and-D guy, while former McDonald’s All-American Trent Perry still has plenty of upside.
What this group was missing was better point guard play, and the Bruins brought a SoCal native back home to fill that void.
Projected Starting Lineup
PG: Donovan Dent
SG: Skyy Clark
SF: Eric Dailey Jr.
PF: Tyler Bilodeau
C: Xavier Booker
Key Reserves: G Trent Perry, W Jamar Brown, C Steven Jamerson II
Key Additions
Donovan Dent was one of the best players in the country last season at New Mexico. The Riverside, Calif., native could’ve gone anywhere in the portal and chose to come home to UCLA. It’s a fascinating marriage between a player who constantly wants to run in transition and a coach who has traditionally preferred an incredibly deliberate pace. My guess? Some give-and-take each way, with Cronin giving Dent freedom to be opportunistic in transition and Dent in exchange playing in a bit more structure in the half court than he did at New Mexico. If the offseason buzz about his three-point shot improving shows up in games, he’ll be a draft pick next June.
UCLA’s other big investment this spring was in Xavier Booker, a former elite recruit who never panned out at Michigan State. On paper, he’s a logical fit with Bilodeau, bringing floor spacing, rim protection and athleticism. But Booker’s a bit of a tweener whose confidence looked shot last season.
Two under-the-radar portal adds could end up playing big roles. Steven Jamerson II is the likely starter at center if not Booker. Jamerson started college as a regular student not on the basketball team at Michigan State, wound up transferring and becoming a starter at the University of San Diego and will now suit up for a blueblood. He’s a big body with good size and length. Jamar Brown is a 24-year-old who made 70 threes at 40% for UMKC last season and brings some effort and energy defensively.
Causes for Concern
The push-pull between Dent and Cronin will dictate the entire season in Westwood. Can Dent be as effective as he was the last two years at New Mexico in an offense that might not be as ball-screen dominant and catered around his strengths? Can Cronin deal with occasional decision-making lapses to get the highs of Dent’s best moments?
The center spot is also worth monitoring. Does the reclamation project of Booker work? If not, is a guy who played on KenPom’s 297th-ranked squad last season the answer? Not having Aday Mara’s elite rim protection off the bench like last year could hurt the Bruins’ defense.
The Bottom Line
The Dent add massively increases the Bruins’ ceiling from a year ago, giving them the elite talent and offensive engine that could allow them to take the next step and be back in Final Four contention. But it won’t be easy in a rough-and-tumble Big Ten, especially with the amount of travel they’ll deal with in January and February.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Sports Illustrated’s Men’s College Basketball Preseason Top 25: No. 17 UCLA.
