Men’s basketball debuts freshmen in exhibition match

For much of UCLA men’s basketball’s exhibition game Wednesday night, the Bruins’ toughest opponent was themselves.

Coach Steve Alford’s team piled up 24 turnovers – 12 in each half as UCLA struggled against Cal State Los Angeles’ full court press – leading to 27 Golden Eagle points.

And despite turning the ball over on more than a quarter of their possessions, the Bruins shot more than 63% from the floor and led from start to finish in a 111-80 win, their only exhibition game before heading off to China for their season opener.

“The fortunate thing is we’re not going to face this style where it’s just full-fledged run-and-jump full court,” Alford said, “(But I’m) very pleased with how we handled the style.”

UCLA dominated in transition and in the paint, scoring 26 fastbreak points and 58 points in the paint compared to four and 28 respectively for Cal State LA. The Bruins made 14 of 19 layups and dunked the ball 19 times, including several highlight alley-oops from freshman guard Jaylen Hands to freshman guard Kris Wilkes.

In his collegiate debut, Hands showed his potential to replace point guard Lonzo Ball’s production in UCLA’s lineup. The former McDonald’s All-American finished one rebound shy of a triple double with 12 points and a team-high 11 assists.

“We were up by a lot so we were just having fun getting out in transition,” Hands said. “Me and (Wilkes) talked about how the first four minutes were a little jumpy, but after that, you just get used to playing basketball like you always do.”

Alford’s contingent of freshmen, which also includes guard Chris Smith, guard LiAngelo Ball and forward Cody Riley, totaled 52 points, 25 rebounds and 16 assists as well as 15 turnovers.

The only Bruin who played more than five minutes and didn’t have a turnover was center Thomas Welsh, who paced UCLA with 22 points and 14 rebounds. The senior opened the game on a designed post-up play and overpowered his defender for a layup, and then swished a 3-pointer on the following possession.

“That’s what you have to have your seniors do,” Alford said. “We’re seeing him shoot threes now, and I think that’s going to continue so you got somebody – a 7-foot-1-inch guy that could hurt you at the rim and he could hurt you out to 21, 22 feet.”

Welsh said that he worked on extending his shooting range over the offseason, and it showed. After only shooting one three all of last year, the 7-footer hit both of his attempts Wednesday.

“I feel confident,” Welsh said. “I’m not expecting them necessarily, I want them to go in, I get the best shot I can, but I’m more focusing on getting a good rep in. … But it was nice to get those first two down.”

Six other Bruins joined Welsh in double figures, as the bench went 12-deep and no player was on the floor for more than 25 minutes.

Junior guard Aaron Holiday, one of only two returning starters along with Welsh, added 11 points on 4-5 shooting, five assists, three steals and a block.

UCLA also welcomed back redshirt sophomores Prince Ali and Alex Olesinski, who both sat out last year with injuries.

Olesinski, who paired with Riley as the Bruins’ backup big men, scored three points and secured eight rebounds. Meanwhile, Ali was the first guard off the bench and he recorded 10 points, three assists and a highlight tomahawk dunk early in the second half.

Big baller debut

LaVar Ball was in the stands for LiAngelo Ball’s first collegiate game, and swarms of students and fans surrounded him during halftime and postgame for photos.

According to LaVar Ball, his two younger sons – LiAngelo Ball and 2019 commit LaMelo Ball – are still on track to leave for the NBA after one year in Westwood. Per the Los Angeles Times, LaVar Ball said, “Balls only go to school for one year.”

LiAngelo Ball scored 11 points on 4-8 shooting, and his first 3-pointer generated a roar of applause from the announced crowd of 4,408.