Matchup against Arizona hinges on Bryce Alford’s shooting game
UCLA struggled as a whole last weekend, dropping two games on the road. Not immune from the team’s difficulties was junior guard Bryce Alford, who couldn’t find his shot against Washington and Washington State. (Owen Emerson/Daily Bruin senior staff)
By Claire Fahy
Jan. 7, 2016 9:28 a.m.
Junior guard Bryce Alford is in the midst of the best season of his collegiate career, leading UCLA men’s basketball in scoring, assists and free throw percentage. Alford is also, however, in one of the worst shooting slumps of his career, shooting 21.9 percent from field goal range over the past two games.
“He’s drawing, I think, most times the best defender,” said coach Steve Alford. “What helps is what you’re seeing (junior guard) Isaac (Hamilton) do. Isaac is playing very well and he’s doing it consistently.”
Hamilton has stepped up his offensive production in the wake of Alford’s struggles, shooting 55 percent from the field for 27 points against Washington State last weekend. The junior guard also hit three shots from beyond the arc in UCLA’s road loss.
“I took a back seat (last year) in terms of what I really could do,” Hamilton said. “This year … (scoring) being my primary job, I’m starting to get in the groove of things.”
Alford and the Bruins needed Hamilton’s points last weekend seeing as he, the leading scorer, couldn’t hit many shots. During the conference opening road trip Alford took a total of 46 shots and missed 35 of them.
“It’s tougher to score in conference, it’s tougher to play in conference play. You’ve got guys that have seen you play and played against you now, for me, two years in four or five games,” Bryce Alford said. “It’s a lot more difficult and I think that’s something you’ve got to be ready for to go into conference play and you gotta adjust to it.”
This is Alford’s first season without guard Norman Powell, who graduated last year and now plays for the Toronto Raptors. Powell helped draw pressure from Alford last season as he shot 46 percent from field goal range and averaged 16.4 points per game. Now, Alford is the main target for opposing teams’ defenses.
“We know he’s under a gun, we know we’re asking him to do a lot – run the club, lead the club, he’s rebounding the ball well, the shots that he gets that are good, he’s making,” Steve Alford said. “I think that the shots that he’s really trying to focus and work on are the tighter shots inside the three-point line.”
While Bryce Alford might not be used to this level of pressure on offense, he’s used to this kind of shooting slump. The guard struggled last year during the Bruins’ conference opening road trip, but managed to bounce back and score 15 points on 5-of-13 shooting against Stanford at home.
UCLA will look for their leading scorer to rebound from this slump the same way he did last year, as his scoring will be crucial if they hope to overcome the No. 7 Arizona Wildcats Thursday in their Pac-12 home opener.
