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UCLA men’s basketball transfers bring experience, competition to team

Junior forward Tyler Bilodeau elevates over a defender for a floater (left). Junior guard Skyy Clark looks for a pass on the 3-point line. (Nicolas Greamo/Daily Bruin senior staff)

By Cecilia Schmitz

Nov. 1, 2024 1:41 p.m.

Since the NCAA authorized transfer portal moves for athletes without having to sit out a year, the dynamics of college athletics has been flipped upside down.

Players now move across the country to entirely different environments, hoping to find a new opportunity.

The advent of transfers has molded No. 22 UCLA men’s basketball into an entirely different team from just a year ago.

In its exhibition game against Cal State LA, four of UCLA’s six transfers earned starting nods – one of whom, junior forward Tyler Bilodeau, a transfer from Oregon State, led the Bruins in scoring with 24 points.

“It’s a lot better to have him (Bilodeau) on my side,” said coach Mick Cronin.

Junior guard Skyy Clark followed Bilodeau on the scoresheet, registering 17 points on 7-for-8 shooting. The transfer from Louisville has long demonstrated his scoring and ball-handling capabilities – running the Cardinal offense and averaging a team-leading 13.2 points in 2023.

Bilodeau and Clark are just two of the impact players Cronin brought in following the Bruins’ 2023 season where they failed to reach the NCAA Tournament after three consecutive trips to the Sweet Sixteen.

But, even before this year, Cronin has spearheaded successful efforts in the transfer portal.

Senior guard Lazar Stefanovic transferred to UCLA from Utah in April 2023 and bolted out the gates, becoming one of Cronin’s default starters in the season. And despite slightly more than a year on the roster, Stefanovic’s teammates see him as a de facto leader.

“Guys like Laz and DA (junior guard Dylan Andrews), they know,” said senior guard Kobe Johnson. “They know what it takes to be here.”

With a plethora of new transfers on the squad – many of whom boast significant collegiate experience – the tussle for playing time is even fiercer in Pauley Pavilion.

Andrews was the only returning member of the 2023 team who started Wednesday’s game.

“In practice, we go at it,” Bilodeau said. “I think it’s making everyone better when you got to fight for your minutes every day.”

The wealth of talent that entered Westwood this past offseason has sent signals of upswing after a middling 2023-2024 season where Cronin’s squad culminated the season with a 16-17 record.

Despite the abundance of competition, the Bruins have taken no hits to their chemistry.

“At this point in, having eight new people come in for this team, our chemistry is off the roof,” Johnson said. “We’re always hanging out with each other off the court. I think that’s the most important thing, just building that bond outside of basketball.”

Although Cronin – who is known to push players to their limits – has high standards, his players look forward to the challenge.

“That’s why I came here. I want these practices to be intense. I want him to get on us,” Johnson said.

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Cecilia Schmitz
Schmitz was a 2023-2024 assistant Sports editor on the women’s soccer, beach volleyball, women’s golf and cross country beats. She was previously a contributor on the women’s soccer and beach volleyball beats and a staffer for the Outreach section. She is also a fourth-year political science and communication student.
Schmitz was a 2023-2024 assistant Sports editor on the women’s soccer, beach volleyball, women’s golf and cross country beats. She was previously a contributor on the women’s soccer and beach volleyball beats and a staffer for the Outreach section. She is also a fourth-year political science and communication student.
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