UCLA basketball to start new season with exhibition game

It’s been a hectic offseason for UCLA men’s basketball.

After a resounding defeat early in the NCAA tournament, the Bruins fired coach Ben Howland, who led them to seven NCAA Tournament appearances and three trips to the Final Four in his 10 years with UCLA, on March 25.

Five days later, Steve Alford was hired as Howland’s replacement. Alford then worked to convince UCLA’s current players to stay with the team, and also snagged two freshmen who chose to transfer to UCLA – forward Wanaah Bail and guard Isaac Hamilton.

The busy offseason moves into its final stages today as UCLA plays an exhibition game in Pauley Pavilion at 7:30 p.m. against Cal State San Bernadino, its first opponent since suffering an 83-63 loss to Minnesota on March 22.

But while it’s the Bruins’ first game in more than seven months, the kinks Alford wants to work out aren’t confined to the court.

“It’s our first go-around here. We’ll be looking at a lot of different things, from the marketing end of it to scoreboard stuff to the music. … It’s a new staff who likes doing things maybe a little bit different, so we’re putting in our stuff and blending that in with how traditions and other things of UCLA just to see how that goes,” Alford said at Monday’s press conference.

While Alford may be focused on the logistical aspects, UCLA’s players are simply eager to finally get the chance to compete against a team other than their own.

“We’ve been going at each other’s necks for probably like a good two and a half weeks already,” said junior guard Norman Powell. “I think everybody’s looking forward to actually compete and get out there and play and see how Coach is … and start getting used to each other.”

The Bruins said they hope this exhibition game, as well as next Monday’s exhibition matchup against Cal State San Marcos, will help them better understand themselves as a team.

“In exhibition games, yes, we’re competing to win but … I’m trying to get a measuring stick of where we’re at,” Alford said. “At least you got a little bit of identity of who you are: Does it have to be fixed, does it have to be tweaked, does it just have to be maintained? We’ll have a better understanding of that come Tuesday morning of next week.”

With Howland’s departure, as well as the departure of two of last year’s starters, guard/forward Shabazz Muhammad and point guard Larry Drew II, the core that played a large role in defining the team’s identity last season is gone.

Add to the mix a new coaching staff with a different offensive system, a new potential star in freshman guard Zach LaVine and the increasingly prominent roles of sophomore guard/forward Kyle Anderson and sophomore guard Jordan Adams, and the Bruins figure to be a very different squad from the one that won the Pac-12 regular season title last year.

But while a new team with new faces will be trotting out of the tunnel tonight, Adams said he doesn’t expect fans to see a drastic change from last season.

“They’ll notice that coach Howland’s not here, Shabazz’s not here and Larry’s not here,” Adams said. “Other than that, we’re pretty much the same team.”