Tag: UCLA Bruins basketball

Former Bruins star Kyle Anderson set to face Nuggets in NBA Playoffs

Kyle Anderson and the Wolves will face the Nuggets.

Former UCLA Bruins Basketball star Kyle Anderson and his Minnesota Timberwolves teammates are in the second round of the NBA Playoffs.

Anderson, 30 years old, was a 1st round draft pick by the San Antonio Spurs back in 2014.  After his time with the Spurs, he went to Memphis and then joined the Timberwolves during the 2022-2023 season.

Anderson played in three of the four games, missing Game 2 with a hip injury. The 6’9 forward played in 16 minutes in the Game 4 win, scoring four points and ripping down seven rebounds. On the season, Anderson played in 79 games, including 10 starts, scoring 6.4 points and 4.2 assists per game.

During his time at UCLA, Anderson played two seasons and averaged more than 12 points per game. His freshman season saw him score 9.7 per game, while he raised it to 14.6 per game in his second season. Anderson played in a total of 71 games for the Bruins, making 70 starts.

Anderson was named the Pac-12 Player of the Tournament during the 2014 season. He was also a first-team All-Pac 12 member in his final season with the Bruins.

The Minnesota Timberwolves will take on the defending NBA Champion Denver Nuggets in the second round. The Timberwolves and Nuggets will start their series on Saturday, May 4th in Denver.

Berke Buyuktuncel enters transfer portal

Berke Buyuktuncel is going portaling.

The UCLA Bruins men’s basketball program has now brought in six transfers during the portal frenzy. But, as a result, Berke Buyuktuncel has decided to enter the transfer portal, per Jaime Shaw of On3.

Buyuktuncel averaged 4.5 PPG with 2.5 rebounds for the Bruins while playing in 26 games as a freshman. He came over from Turkey but was never able to earn much of a role.

With the additions of transfers such as Tyler Bilodeau, William Kyle III, and the latest being Dominick Harris, Buyuktuncel’s role looked even smaller.

After Harris transferred to UCLA< it was a question of who would leave to fill the final scholarship spot, and now we have our answer.

Buyuktuncel should receive plenty of interest in the portal, especially with a lot of eligibility remaining and some untapped potential.

But, this changes the UCLA roster a little bit, although Mick Cronin’s magical portal run has fans feeling great heading into the Big Ten.

UCLA hoops moves up to No. 15 in ESPN way-too-early rankings

UCLA hoops moving up.

The UCLA Bruins men’s basketball program continues to look dominant for the 2024-2025 season. Suddenly, they have landed six players in the transfer portal and have shown interest in a large number of others during the process.

As a result, Jeff Borzello of ESPN updated his way-to-early top 25 rankings with the transfer portal changing things up. In it, UCLA went from No. 19 to No. 15.

Here’s what Borzello wrote after UCLA’s sensational transfer portal run:

Mick Cronin’s worst season in 15 years is unlikely to be repeated. Especially because the Bruins have already landed five transfers — at least two could start right off the bat, with USC’s Kobe Johnson providing two-way ability and Oregon State’s Tyler Bilodeau an inside-outside threat. That’s on top of three returning starters, and intriguing international prospects Aday Mara and Berke Buyuktuncel. How all the pieces fit might be the biggest question.

The latest get was former Gonzaga and Loyola Marymount guard Dominick Harris, and now the roster looks even more talented as they transition to the Big Ten Conference.

Photos of UCLA hoops transfer pickup William Kyle III

William Kyle III through the lens.

The UCLA Bruins men’s basketball program continues to work magic in the transfer portal. Recently, they got a commitment from South Dakota State transfer William Kyle III.

Kyle brings a lot of athleticism to the roster and should see a large chunk of minutes with Adem Bona entering the NBA Draft. It is yet another big pickup by Mick Cronin, and fans had him trending after his transfer portal haul.

Here are some of the best photos from Kyle’s time with South Dakota State, including a trip to the NCAA Tournament in 2024 as they lost to Iowa State in the Round of 64.

Mick Cronin touches on Bronny James’ situation: ‘It’s just so different’

Mick Cronin chimes in on Bronny’s situation.

The UCLA Bruins men’s basketball program has been incredibly active in the transfer portal. The USC Trojans have also been active in the portal, and both LA schools should be viewed as top teams in their first year of Big Ten Conference play.

As for the Trojans, they saw Bronny James, the highly-regarded son of LeBron James, enter the portal while declaring for the 2024 NBA Draft.

It remains to be seen what type of value Bronny has, especially after a bit of a disappointing freshman year with USC. But, UCLA head coach Mick Cronin had some interesting comments earlier in April that surely look different now, especially with the Los Angeles Lakers’ season coming to an end on Monday against the Denver Nuggets.

Cronin was on SPEAK and revealed what he would tell Bronny about the future plans:

“Well I would tell any young player that in his situation he’s got to improve right. I mean he didn’t play well enough this year to show he was ready. Now you can say well he didn’t have that much opportunity because he was behind Isaiah Collier and Boogie Ellis you know so, and those are great players. And I know Bronny from his time at Sierra Canyon, you know I actually recruited his father, I was the only guy that drove through snowstorms. Huggins used to make me do that to go up to Akron. His situation’s just not like anybody else you know. So if your father’s going to have influence do you go now so you can play with your father? So it’s just so different.”

The full clip is below, and the situation about Bronny will be something to monitor for all of college basketball.

UCLA hoops lands Dominick Harris in transfer portal

ANOTHER transfer for UCLA.

Mick Cronin has done it again. The UCLA Bruins basketball head coach has landed his sixth transfer portal addition of the offseason, this time bringing in Loyola Marymount guard Dominick Harris, per Jonathan Givony of Draft Express.

Harris averaged 14.4 PPG for Loyola Marymount this season and played two seasons at Gonzaga before going to LMU. He is a grad transfer with one year remaining and adds even more talent to an already-loaded Bruins roster.

Harris is a huge addition for the Bruins as the continue to climb in the way-too-early top 25 rankings.

UCLA just recently added William Kyle III from South Dakota State and they have also brought in Kobe Johnson, Skyy Clark, Tyler Bilodeau, and Eric Dailey Jr. in the portal.

Harris took to X to announce his excitement with the move as well.

This is yet another big piece to the Bruins puzzle as they transition to the Big Ten Conference in 2024.

UCLA reportedly reached out to Colorado transfer Luke O’Brien

UCLA reached out to Luke O’Brien.

The UCLA Bruins basketball program has expressed interest in a large number of players. So far, they have landed three in Kobe Johnson, Skyy Clark, and Eric Dailey Jr. 

Another big name they kicked the tires on is former Colorado star Luke O’Brien, per a report from 24/7 High School Hoops. 

O’Brien heard from a lot of programs, including but not limited to Colorado State, Nevada, Minnesota, Georgia Tech, and Notre Dame.

O’Brien averaged 6.7 PPG with 3.8 rebounds and shot over 37 percent from three-point land for a BUffs team that made the NCAA Tournament and defeated Florida in a thrilling Round of 64 game.

But, the latest update states that O’Brien is visiting Notre Dame and Georgia Tech, per Jon Rothstein.

Still, UCLA has left no questions about trying to improve the roster and they have done so already by adding some big pieces. O’Brien is another name to keep an eye on in the portal.

UCLA hoops on top of 247Sports transfer portal rankings

The Bruins take the top spot.

The UCLA Bruins men’s basketball team has struck gold in the transfer portal so far. Mick Cronin has brought in Skyy Clark, Kobe Johnson, and Eric Dailey Jr. and he is far from down.

Cody Nagel of 247Sports dropped his latest transfer portal rankings, and UCLA is on top of them all up until this point.

Here’s what he wrote about UCLA’s haul thus far:

After finishing with a losing record for the first time in eight seasons and first under head coach Mike Cronin, UCLA went to work early in the transfer portal to secure several prized commitments. The Bruins got their point guard in former Louisville standout Skyy Clark as the first addition. Top 10 overall transfer prospect Kobe Johnson opted to make the crosstown move from rival USC as the headliner for UCLA. That latest transfer commitment that pushed the Bruins into the No. 1 spot in the rankings came from former Oklahoma State power forward Eric Dailey. All three of the newcomers rank among the top 65 overall transfer prospects in the portal cycle.

The Bruins have shown interest in a lot of other players as well, so more names could be coming to Westwood in what is becoming a loaded roster for the 2024-2025 season. 

Mick Cronin compares Eric Dailey Jr. to Jaime Jaquez Jr.

Eric Dialey Jr. and Jaime Jaquez Jr.? Mick Cronin thinks so.

How good will Oklahoma State transfer Eric Dailey Jr. be?

Well, UCLA Bruins head coach Mick Cronin apparently has high expectations for the latest big name to transfer to Westwood.

Here is what Mick Cronin said while comparing Eric Dailey Jr. to Jaime Jaquez Jr., per the official release from the UCLA website:

“Eric is a big guard, built in the Jaime Jaquez Jr. mold. He can rebound like a big, but he is a young man with guard skills in a big, strong body.”

Being compared to a player such as Jaquez, who has made himself known in his rookie year in the NBA with the Miami Heat, is definitely a good sign for Dailey.

Dailey has some big shoes to fill if Cronin is thinking of him similarly to Jaime Jaquez Jr., but the talent is there. Add in the rest of the pieces in a roster that is loaded, and there is a lot of excitement for the future of UCLA men’s basketball.

UCLA hoops showed interest in Michigan transfer Terrance Williams II

Another Michigan transfer on the eyes of UCLA.

The UCLA Bruins already expressed interest in Michigan transfer Tarris Reed before he decided to join UConn. The Bruins have also expressed interest in Terrance Williams II, per a report from 24/7 High School Hoops.

Here are some other schools Williams has heard from in the portal:

  • Vanderbilt
  • Butler
  • Pitt
  • St. John’s
  • Louisville
  • USC
  • VCU
  • Notre Dame
  • UCF
  • Xavier

A return to Michigan is also a possibility with Dusty May taking over for Juwan Howard. But, things could be tilting toward a final decision as Williams is set for a visit to Notre Dame, per Geoffrey Clark of Fighting Irish Wire.

“One possibility is former Michigan forward Terrance Williams II, who has one year of eligibility remaining. The Irish are set to host Williams next week.”

Williams averaged 12.4 PPG and 4.5 boards and has a lot of interest in the portal. It remains to be seen how the transfer portal looks now that UCLA has landed a few big names, but never count out Mick Cronin.