2015–16 UCLA Bruins men's basketball team

2015–16 UCLA Bruins men's basketball
Conference	Pac-12 Conference
2015–16 record	15–17 (6–12 Pac-12)
Head coach	Steve Alford (3rd year)
Assistant coach	Ed Schilling
Assistant coach	Duane Broussard
Assistant coach	David Grace
Home arena	Pauley Pavilion

2015–16 Pac-12 Conference men's basketball standings
	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
#5 Oregon †	14	–	4		.778			31	–	7		.816
#13 Utah	13	–	5		.722			27	–	9		.750
#17 Arizona	12	–	6		.667			25	–	9		.735
#23 California	12	–	6		.667			23	–	11		.676
Colorado	10	–	8		.556			22	–	12		.647
USC	9	–	9		.500			21	–	13		.618
Oregon State	9	–	9		.500			19	–	13		.594
Washington	9	–	9		.500			19	–	15		.559
Stanford	8	–	10		.444			15	–	15		.500
UCLA	6	–	12		.333			15	–	17		.469
Arizona State	5	–	13		.278			15	–	17		.469
Washington State	1	–	17		.056			9	–	22		.290
† 2016 Pac-12 Tournament winner Rankings from AP Poll

The 2015–16 UCLA Bruins men's basketball team represented the University of California, Los Angeles, during the 2015–16 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. They finished the season with a 15–17 record, the fourth time the program finished with a losing record since 1948, when John Wooden became their coach.^[1] The Bruins were led by third-year head coach Steve Alford and played their home games at Pauley Pavilion as members in the Pac-12 Conference. Isaac Hamilton earned second-team All-Pac-12 honors, the only Bruin named to the all-conference team.^[2]

With Kevon Looney having moved on to the National Basketball Association (NBA), sophomore Thomas Welsh was promoted to UCLA's starting lineup at center, while center Tony Parker moved to forward.^[3][4] Freshman guard Aaron Holiday also opened the season as a starter, teaming with Hamilton and Bryce Alford to form a three-guard lineup.^[5] The Bruins lost their season opener to mid-major Monmouth and lost consecutive games in the Maui Invitational to Kansas and Wake Forest.^[6][7] However, they recovered to upset then-No. 1 Kentucky 87–77 at home and defeated then-No. 20 Gonzaga 71–66 on the road.^[8] UCLA finished their non-conference schedule winning six of their last seven games, and entered Pac-12 play at 9–4 and ranked No. 25 in the nation.^[6] They were comparatively better than a year earlier, when they entered conference play with five losses and a three-game losing streak.^[8]

The Bruins had an early conference win against then-No. 7 Arizona,^[9] but they were 4–5 halfway through the Pac-12 schedule, including 0–4 against the three teams with the quickest pace in the conference, Washington, USC, and Oregon.^[10] Their defense was weakened without comparable replacements for Looney and Norman Powell, a senior from the prior season, and sophomore Gyorgy Goloman had been out for much of the season with a stress fracture in his leg.^[11] UCLA coach Steve Alford believed his big front court was "slow" and had sophomore Jonah Bolden start in place of the senior Parker.^[12] While Bolden was 1 inch (25 mm) taller than Parker, he was also 40 pounds (18 kg) lighter.^[13] UCLA began their second half with a loss to USC, who swept the Bruins for the first time since 2010.^[14][15] The Bruins lost both games in their crosstown rivalry by double digits for the first time since 1938.^[14] In their next game, UCLA blew a 10-point halftime lead to Arizona en route to their fifth loss in seven games. The loss dropped them out of all major NCAA Tournament projections and mired in 10th place in the Pac-12.^[16][17]

Previous season

The Bruins finished in fourth place (11–7) in the Pac-12 conference. They earned a No. 11 seed in the NCAA Championship tournament, and advanced to the Sweet 16, becoming the lowest-seed UCLA team to ever reach the regional semifinals. They defeated SMU 60–59 in the second round and UAB 92–75 in the third round. Then the Bruins lost to Gonzaga for the second time of the season, 74-62 in the Sweet Sixteen. The program produced its 49th 20-win season. Norman Powell led the team in scoring with 16.4 points per game, followed by Bryce Alford with 15.4 points per game.

Off-season

Departures

Name	Number	Pos.	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown	Notes
Norman Powell	4	G	6'4"	215	Senior	San Diego, California	Graduated
David Brown	13	G	6'3"	185	Senior	Anaheim Hills, California	Graduated
Kory Alford	2	G	6'4"	185	RS Junior	Albuquerque, New Mexico	Graduated
Nick Kazemi	0	G	6'3"	210	RS Junior	Santa Ana, California	Graduated
Wanaah Bail	1	F	6'9"	215	Sophomore	Houston, Texas	Elected to transfer[18]
Kevon Looney	5	F	6'9"	220	Freshman	Milwaukee, Wisconsin	Declared for 2015 NBA draft[19]

Incoming transfers

Name	Number	Pos.	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown	Notes
Ikenna Okwarabizie	34	C	6'10"	245	Sophomore	Lagos, Nigeria	Junior college transfer from Tyler Junior College

2015 Recruiting class

Name	Home town	High school / college	Height	Weight	Commit date
Aaron Holiday #15 PG	North Hollywood, CA	Campbell Hall School	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)	175 lb (79 kg)	Mar 3, 2014
	Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:
Prince Ali #12 SG	Pembroke Pines, FL	Sagemont School	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	Aug 16, 2014
	Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:
Alex Olesinski F	Roswell, NM	La Lumiere School	6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)	200 lb (91 kg)	Mar 4, 2015
	Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN: N/A
Overall recruiting rankings:
Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "2015 Player Commits". ESPN.com. Retrieved February 13, 2015. "2015 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved February 13, 2015.

Roster

2015–16 UCLA Bruins men's basketball team
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Home town F 0 Olesinski, AlexAlex Olesinski 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Fr La Lumiere School Roswell, New Mexico G 1 Smith, WonderWonder Smith (W) 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Fr Windward School Los Angeles, California G/F 2 Allen, NoahNoah Allen 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 215 lb (98 kg) Jr Palma HS Pacific Grove, California G 3 Holiday, AaronAaron Holiday 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Fr Campbell Hall School North Hollywood, California G 5 Ali, PrincePrince Ali 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Fr Sagemont School Pembroke Pines, Florida G 10 Hamilton, IsaacIsaac Hamilton 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Jr St. John Bosco HS Los Angeles, California F 14 Goloman, GyörgyGyörgy Goloman 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 215 lb (98 kg) So The Sagemont School Körmend, Hungary G 15 Smith, JerroldJerrold Smith (W) 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 165 lb (75 kg) Jr St. Bernard HS Los Angeles, California G 20 Alford, BryceBryce Alford 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Jr La Cueva HS Albuquerque, New Mexico G 21 Wulff, AlecAlec Wulff (W) 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 185 lb (84 kg) So Laguna Beach HS Laguna Beach, California G 22 Bell-Williams, GabrielGabriel Bell-Williams (W) 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 175 lb (79 kg) Fr Campbell Hall School Toronto, Ontario F/C 23 Parker, TonyTony Parker 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 260 lb (118 kg) Sr Miller Grove HS Atlanta, Georgia G 24 Bell-Williams, JustisJustis Bell-Williams (W) 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 170 lb (77 kg) Fr Campbell Hall School Toronto, Ontario C 34 Okwarabizie, IkennaIkenna Okwarabizie 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 250 lb (113 kg) So East HS/Tyler Junior College Lagos, Nigeria C 40 Welsh, ThomasThomas Welsh 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 245 lb (111 kg) So Loyola HS Redondo Beach, California G/F 43 Bolden, JonahJonah Bolden 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 220 lb (100 kg) RS Fr Brewster Academy Sydney, Australia	Head coach Steve Alford (Indiana) Assistant coach(es) Ed Schilling (Miami (OH)) Duane Broussard (Bradley) David Grace (Park) Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible (W) Walk-on Injured Current redshirt Roster Last update: November 13, 2015

Schedule

UCLA's 2015–16 schedule includes home games against Kentucky, Long Beach State, Pepperdine, Cal Poly, Louisiana-Lafayette, Monmouth, Cal State Northridge, and McNeese State. UCLA will travel to play at Gonzaga and face off against North Carolina at a neutral venue. The Bruins will also make a trip to play three of the following in the Maui Invitational: Kansas, Indiana, St. John's, UNLV, Vanderbilt, and Wake Forest.^[20]

During the Pac-12 Conference schedule, UCLA will play 18 games (9 home and 9 away) and will have home-and-homes with the following teams: Arizona, Arizona State, Oregon, Oregon State, USC, Washington, and Washington State. The Bruins will only play the Rocky Mountain teams (Colorado and Utah) at home. UCLA will also only play the Bay area teams (California and Stanford) on the road.^[21]

Date Time, TV	Rank^#	Opponent^#	Result	Record	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Site (Attendance) City, State
Exhibition
Oct 30* 7:30 pm		Cal State Los Angeles	W 95–57	–	20 – Hamilton	11 – Bolden	7 – Alford	Pauley Pavilion (6,930) Los Angeles, CA
Non-conference regular season
Nov 13* 8:00 pm, P12N		Monmouth	L 81–84 ^OT	0–1	22 – Alford	19 – Parker	5 – Alford	Pauley Pavilion (6,674) Los Angeles, CA
Nov 15* 7:00 pm, P12N		Cal Poly Maui Invitational Opening Round	W 88–83	1–1	22 – Welsh	14 – Parker	8 – Alford	Pauley Pavilion (6,595) Los Angeles, CA
Nov 19* 7:30 pm, P12N		Pepperdine	W 81–67	2–1	19 – Alford	15 – Parker	5 – Tied	Pauley Pavilion (6,063) Los Angeles, CA
Nov 23* 8:30 pm, ESPN2		vs. UNLV Maui Invitational Quarterfinals	W 77–75	3–1	20 – Tied	8 – Welsh	4 – Bolden	Lahaina Civic Center (2,400) Maui, HI
Nov 24* 7:00 pm, ESPN		vs. #5 Kansas Maui Invitational Semifinals	L 73–92	3–2	19 – Hamilton	8 – Parker	3 – Holiday	Lahaina Civic Center (2,400) Maui, HI
Nov 25* 4:30 pm, ESPN2		vs. Wake Forest Maui Invitational 3rd Place Game	L 77–80	3–3	18 – Tied	15 – Parker	7 – Alford	Lahaina Civic Center (2,400) Maui, HI
Nov 29* 4:00 pm, P12N		Cal State Northridge	W 77–45	4–3	14 – Tied	11 – Parker	10 – Alford	Pauley Pavilion (6,193) Los Angeles, CA
Dec 3* 6:00 pm, ESPN		#1 Kentucky	W 87–77	5–3	21 – Welsh	11 – Welsh	7 – Holiday	Pauley Pavilion (12,202) Los Angeles, CA
Dec 6* 6:00 pm, P12N		Long Beach State	W 83–76	6–3	24 – Alford	10 – Tied	7 – Holiday	Pauley Pavilion (6,443) Los Angeles, CA
Dec 12* 7:00 pm, ESPN2		at #20 Gonzaga	W 71–66	7–3	20 – Hamilton	11 – Bolden	5 – Holiday	McCarthey Athletic Center (6,000) Spokane, WA
Dec 15* 6:00 pm, P12N	#22	Louisiana–Lafayette	W 89–80	8–3	27 – Alford	9 – Parker	7 – Alford	Pauley Pavilion (5,460) Los Angeles, CA
Dec 19* 10:00 am, CBS	#22	vs. #11 North Carolina CBS Sports Classic	L 76–89	8–4	23 – Hamilton	11 – Parker	4 – Alford	Barclays Center (16,311) Brooklyn, NY
Dec 22* 8:00 pm, P12N		McNeese State	W 67–53	9–4	18 – Hamilton	14 – Welsh	8 – Alford	Pauley Pavilion (6,499) Los Angeles, CA
Pac-12 regular season
Jan 1 8:00 pm, FS1	#25	at Washington	L 93–96 ^2OT	9–5 (0–1)	30 – Alford	15 – Welsh	5 – Hamilton	Alaska Airlines Arena (6,920) Seattle, WA
Jan 3 6:30 pm, P12N	#25	at Washington State	L 78–85	9–6 (0–2)	27 – Hamilton	10 – Welsh	5 – Alford	Beasley Coliseum (1,912) Pullman, WA
Jan 7 6:00 pm, ESPN2		#7 Arizona Rivalry	W 87–84	10–6 (1–2)	25 – Alford	12 – Parker	6 – 3 tied	Pauley Pavilion (12,026) Los Angeles, CA
Jan 9 2:00 pm, P12N		Arizona State	W 81–74	11–6 (2–2)	26 – Hamilton	16 – Welsh	5 – Tied	Pauley Pavilion (9,973) Los Angeles, CA
Jan 13 8:00 pm, ESPN2		USC Rivalry	L 75–89	11–7 (2–3)	27 – Parker	12 – Parker	8 – Hamilton	Pauley Pavilion (12,993) Los Angeles, CA
Jan 20 8:00 pm, ESPNU		at Oregon State	W 82–73	12–7 (3–3)	25 – Hamilton	5 – Alford	12 – Welsh	Gill Coliseum (5,321) Corvallis, OR
Jan 23 1:00 pm, CBS		at Oregon	L 72–86	12–8 (3–4)	19 – Holiday	8 – Welsh	6 – Alford	Matthew Knight Arena (10,525) Eugene, OR
Jan 28 7:00 pm, FS1		Washington	L 84–86	12–9 (3–5)	28 – Alford	11 – Bolden	6 – Alford	Pauley Pavilion (6,843) Los Angeles, CA
Jan 30 4:00 pm, P12N		Washington State	W 83–50	13–9 (4–5)	22 – Hamilton	10 – Welsh	6 – Hamilton	Pauley Pavilion (9,024) Los Angeles, CA
Feb 4 7:30 pm, P12N		at USC Rivalry	L 61–80	13–10 (4–6)	15 – Holiday	12 – Welsh	7 – Alford	Galen Center (10,258) Los Angeles, CA
Feb 12 6:00 pm, ESPN		at #17 Arizona Rivalry	L 75–81	13–11 (4–7)	24 – Hamilton	10 – Parker	4 – Tied	McKale Center (14,644) Tucson, AZ
Feb 14 5:30 pm, ESPNU		at Arizona State	W 78–65	14–11 (5–7)	16 – Bolden	9 – Bolden	11 – Alford	Wells Fargo Arena (6,710) Tempe, AZ
Feb 18 7:00 pm, ESPN2		Utah	L 73–75	14–12 (5–8)	25 – Hamilton	6 – Welsh	6 – Holiday	Pauley Pavilion (7,249) Los Angeles, CA
Feb 20 8:00 pm, FS1		Colorado	W 77–53	15–12 (6–8)	22 – Hamilton	6 – Tied	9 – Alford	Pauley Pavilion (8,492) Los Angeles, CA
Feb 25 6:00 pm, ESPN2		at California	L 63–75	15–13 (6–9)	15 – Tied	16 – Welsh	5 – Holiday	Haas Pavilion (11,858) Berkeley, CA
Feb 27 1:30 pm, FOX		at Stanford	L 70–79	15–14 (6–10)	20 – Alford	9 – Welsh	6 – Holiday	Maples Pavilion (6,364) Stanford, CA
Mar 2 6:00 pm, ESPN2		#9 Oregon	L 68–76	15–15 (6–11)	19 – Hamilton	7 – Welsh	6 – Hamilton	Pauley Pavilion (6,578) Los Angeles, CA
Mar 5 3:30 pm, P12N		Oregon State	L 82–86	15–16 (6–12)	21 – Hamilton	12 – Welsh	5 – Alford	Pauley Pavilion (7,940) Los Angeles, CA
Pac-12 Tournament
Mar 9 6:00 pm, P12N		vs. USC First round	L 71–95	15–17	12 – Welsh	6 – Welsh	6 – Hamilton	MGM Grand Garden Arena (12,916) Paradise, NV
*Non-conference game. ^#Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Pacific Time.

Ranking movement

Ranking movement
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking. ██ Decrease in ranking. RV = Received votes. NV = Received no votes.

Poll	Pre	Wk 2	Wk 3	Wk 4	Wk 5	Wk 6	Wk 7	Wk 8	Wk 9	Wk 10	Wk 11	Wk 12	Wk 13	Wk 14	Wk 15	Wk 16	Wk 17	Wk 18	Post	Final
AP	RV	NV	NV	NV	RV	22	RV	25	NV	RV	NV	NV	NV	NV	NV	NV	NV	NV		N/A
Coaches	RV	NV	NV	NV	RV	RV	RV	RV	NV	RV	NV	NV	NV	NV	NV	NV	NV	NV

Notes

• November 11, 2015 – High school seniors Ike Anigbogu, Lonzo Ball and Kobe Paras signed National Letters of Intent to play at UCLA in 2016.^[22]
• November 13, 2015 – UCLA received a signed National Letter of Intent from T.J. Leaf.^[23]
• December 7, 2015 – Thomas Welsh was named Pac-12 Player of the Week
• January 11, 2016 – Bryce Alford was named Pac-12 Player of the Week
• January 20, 2016 – György Goloman returned from injury and played first game of season
• March 5, 2016 – Forward/center Tony Parker was honored on Senior Day
• March 24, 2016 – Sophomore center Thomas Welsh was named to the second-team Pac-12 All-Academic team

References

1. Helfand, Zach (March 9, 2016). "USC earns third straight win over UCLA, 95-71, in Pac-12 tournament". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on March 18, 2016.
2. Wang, Jack (March 7, 2016). "UCLA guard Isaac Hamilton makes All-Pac-12 second team". Inside UCLA. Archived from the original on March 8, 2016.
3. Kaufmann, Joey (November 12, 2015). "UCLA basketball preview: It's Thomas Welsh's turn to be center of attention". The Orange County Register. Archived from the original on November 16, 2015.
4. Kaufman, Joey (November 18, 2015). "UCLA basketball: Freshman guard Aaron Holiday proves a quick study". The Orange County Register. Archived from the original on December 9, 2015.
5. Helfand, Zach (November 22, 2015). "UCLA has a chance to prove itself in Maui Invitational". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on December 10, 2015.
6. Caple, Christian (December 31, 2015). "Huskies men’s basketball gameday: UCLA". The News Tribune. Archived from the original on February 9, 2016.
7. Helfand, Zach (December 18, 2015). "UCLA's nonconference schedule gives them strength, despite some snickers". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on February 9, 2016.
8. Wang, Jack (December 31, 2015). "UCLA enters Pac-12 play hoping to build on impressive start". Los Angeles Daily News. Archived from the original on February 9, 2016.
9. "UCLA vs. #17 Arizona". ESPN.com. Archived from the original on February 13, 2016.
10. Kaufman, Joey (February 4, 2016). "USC to try for a rare sweep of rival UCLA". The Orange County Register. Archived from the original on February 9, 2016.
11. Wang, Jack (January 19, 2016). "What’s ailing UCLA men’s basketball on defense?". Los Angeles Daily News. Archived from the original on February 13, 2016.
12. Shultz, Alex (January 30, 2016). "UCLA's juggled lineup results in big win over Washington State". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on January 31, 2016.
13. Wang, Jack (January 30, 2016). "UCLA benches Tony Parker against WSU, starts Jonah Bolden". Inside UCLA. Archived from the original on February 3, 2016.
14. Kaufman, Joey (February 4, 2016). "USC dominates from outset to complete first sweep of UCLA since 2009-10". The Orange County Register. Archived from the original on February 9, 2016.
15. Wang, Jack (February 3, 2016). "UCLA hopes lineup changes pay off in USC rematch". Los Angeles Daily News. Archived from the original on February 9, 2016.
16. Helfand, Zach (February 13, 2016). "For UCLA, it's deja vu in the middle of Pac-12 play". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on February 14, 2016.
17. Wang, Jack (February 13, 2016). "UCLA visits Arizona State hoping to snap losing streak". Los Angeles Daily News. Archived from the original on February 14, 2016.
18. Helfand, Zach. "Wanaah Bail transfers from UCLA after missing second half of season". LATimes.com. Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 10 April 2015.
19. "UCLA's Kevon Looney Declares for NBA Draft". UCLABruins.com. UCLA Athletics. Retrieved 7 April 2015.
20. "UCLA Basketball Announces 2015-16 Non-Conference Schedule". June 8, 2015.
21. "Pac-12 Provides Opponent, Date Windows for 2015-16 Schedule". June 8, 2015.
22. UCLA Signs Three Standouts to NLIs, UCLABruins.com, November 11, 2015
23. UCLA Basketball Inks T.J. Leaf to NLI, UCLABruins.com, November 13, 2015

External links

• 2015-16 UCLA Bruins Roster and Stats at Sports-Reference.com