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UCLA men’s basketball gains 2 new transfers as Cronin tries to bolster reserves

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UCLA men’s basketball players huddle together on the court at Pauley Pavilion. (Leydi Cris Cobo Cordon/Daily Bruin senior staff)

Connor Dullinger

By Connor Dullinger

April 9, 2026 11:20 p.m.

March Madness may be over.

But the craziness of the transfer portal is just getting started.

And the Bruins just got in the mix.

One day after senior guard Skyy Clark entered the transfer portal, UCLA men’s basketball made its first two additions, adding Auburn forward Filip Jovic and Mississippi State forward Sergej Macura, on Thursday.

Jovic played in all 37 games for the Tigers – starting nine and playing 18.2 minutes per game – while averaging 6.3 points and four rebounds per game on 64% shooting from the field.

The freshman forward seemed to hit his stride at the end of Auburn’s season, averaging 11.4 points and five rebounds per game across the five contests his team played in the National Invitation Tournament.

But Jovic also made his presence known earlier in the season, recording a career-high 23 points against South Carolina on Jan. 17, garnering a double-double with 10 points and 10 boards against Georgia on Jan. 3 and logging nine points and 10 rebounds against Merrimack on Nov. 6.

Jovic is not a 3-point shooter – he took just three long-range attempts all season – but instead uses his size and frame to produce in the paint.

Macura comes to Westwood after playing 28 games and starting four in his sophomore season at Mississippi State. Macura averaged five points and 4.8 rebounds per game across just 18.5 minutes per game.

The forward garnered three double-digit scoring performances last season, logging 10 points and five rebounds against South Carolina on Feb. 21, a 10-point-and-10-rebound double-double against LSU on Jan. 28 and 12 points and seven rebounds against LIU on Dec. 16.

While he is more of an outside shooter than Jovic, his game still favors the interior, going 6-for-21 from beyond the arc on the season.

Coach Mick Cronin made his priorities evident with his first two portal entries.

Both Macura and Jovic bring elite size to the Bruins, with the former measuring in at 6-foot-9 and 225 pounds and the latter at 6-foot-8 and 225 pounds. Macura would have tied as the third-tallest player and Jovic as the fourth-tallest player on this past season’s UCLA roster.

Cronin also seems focused on the offensive and defensive glass this offseason, after the Bruins ranked No. 14 in the conference and No. 315 in the nation in rebounds per game.

While nothing is concrete, it seems that Macura and Jovic will both be bench pieces for next season’s UCLA roster, given the players’ past season production and the amount of talent remaining in the portal that would fill holes needed to compete for a national championship.

If the duo of transfers does join the Bruins as depth pieces, then Cronin has expanded upon an imperative part of his program and something the team lacked last season – quality contributions from the team’s reserves.

However, if Jovic and Macura are destined to be starters or the sixth and seventh man, respectively, off the bench, the Bruins may lack the firepower to compete with the nation’s best.

But one thing remains concrete.

The transfer portal waits on no one.

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Connor Dullinger | Sports editor
Dullinger is the 2025-2026 Sports editor on the football, men's basketball and NIL beats. He was previously a 2024-2025 assistant Sports editor on the men's soccer, men's volleyball and softball beats and a contributor on the men's golf and men's volleyball beats. Dullinger is a third-year communication and political science student from Sandy Hook, Connecticut.
Dullinger is the 2025-2026 Sports editor on the football, men's basketball and NIL beats. He was previously a 2024-2025 assistant Sports editor on the men's soccer, men's volleyball and softball beats and a contributor on the men's golf and men's volleyball beats. Dullinger is a third-year communication and political science student from Sandy Hook, Connecticut.
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