With UCLA's exit in the second round of the tournament following a hard fought battle against Florida, the Bruins have a lot of hope for the coming 2011-2012 season. After a tumultuous 14-18 2009-2010 season, it looked like Ben Howland's time as the Bruins head coach could numbered, but improved play from the young Bruins has the patrons of Westwood optimistic for a tournament run and maybe more in the 2011-2012 season. Looking at the roster, there will be quite a blend of talent, experience, athleticism and size that could blend into one of Howland's best squads at UCLA.
Point Guards:
Lazeric Jones: The point guard position is somewhat of a weak spot for the Bruins, as there are only two true point guards on the roster with neither one being a clear cut starting quality player. Lazeric Jones was the starter for most of 2010-2011 despite playing with practically one hand due to a torn ligament in one of his fingers and a jammed wrist. Playing through that kind of pain is indicative of what kind of personality he has both on and off the court. Zeek has the prototypical bulldog, tough Chicago kid mentality that makes him an excellent asset as a leader. Unfortunately, near the end of the season, Zeek became almost a liability on the court by averaging only 3.6 assists per game to 2.1 turnovers per game while shooting only 38% from the field. Granted, he still averaged 9 points per game despite his poor shooting percentage, which can be partially attributed to his 81% free throw shooting percentage. On defense, Zeek was not as much of a liability, but as the season progressed, he seemed to be a little bit more passive on defense, which lessened his impact on forcing turnovers. For next season, whether it's Jones or Anderson running the point, either one will need to be a more active defender and do a better job of diagnosing screens and making the right decisions as to whether they should go over or under screens.
Jerime Anderson: The other point guard is Jerime Anderson, who came to Westwood with the expectation of being the 'next' great UCLA point guard. Clearly, he has not panned out as planned, but this past season he did solidify himself as a solid point guard option. Coming off the bench, Anderson was the Bruins' best 3 point shooter at 39%, but he had similar issues taking care of the ball as Jones, as he averaged only 2.6 assists per game to 1.5 turnovers per game. One point of promise where Anderson has the advantage over Jones is his ability to get to the basket and distribute from the drive. Anderson has shown a very good ability to use his screens and cut to the hoop, which is (at least in my opinion) one of the most important attributes to a successful point guard.
De'End Parker: Parker is a bit of an unknown as of now, but he is coming to UCLA from San Francisco City College as a point guard- granted he played as a wing in high school. His ability to play anywhere from the 1-3 will make him quite the asset to UCLA, especially if Honeycutt decides to leave early as expected. Based on his film, he seems to be an excellent ball handler with good driving ability and excellent court vision. These three traits all add up to a very good point guard, but the film was against JUCO competition, not Pac-10 talent.
Analysis: The Bruins are going to have an excellent inside game with Reeves Nelson, Travis and David Wear, Joshua Smith, Anthony Stover and Brenden Lane all being viable post options, so spreading the court and having the ability to cut to the basket and dump the ball off will be a huge plus for a point guard. With that being said, Anderson fits the billing as being the kind of penetrator needed to have a functional offense. He will need to improve his decision-making and his ability to work around screens before he can be considered the viable point guard option that can lead UCLA in a deep tournament run. Also, I believe that Zeek is the kind of personality that can infuse energy off the bench as a spark plug that can come in and make a play or two based on toughness that can get the team fired up. As a lifelong Sacramento Kings fan, Bobby Jackson comes to mind in the role that I believe he can play. Also, I believe that Parker should see some time at the point as the season progresses, which could cause some matchup problems if you team him up with Lee and possibly Honeycutt, as that would be a backcourt of 6'5, 6'5 and 6'8. Of course, UCLA's strength for the 2011-2012 season will be their frontcourt, but a productive backcourt will be the X-factor for the Bruins.
