LOS ANGELES — The UCLA men’s basketball team had the luxury of trying a few things Tuesday.
After a nail-biting exhibition game against San Diego State, the Bruins put UC Irvine away early and closed out their preseason with a 94-64 victory at Pauley Pavilion.
“I give our guys a lot of credit,” Bruins head coach Mick Cronin said. “They came out ready to play.”
In running up a 31-point halftime lead, No. 12 UCLA could experiment with lineups and actions. It spammed pick-and-rolls with Donovan Dent. It employed a lineup with three guards, and another with no true center. It ran offense through Xavier Booker Jr. and Trent Perry for stretches. It saw Jamar Brown continue to flourish, filling as Eric Dailey Jr. nurses a bone bruise in his left knee.
Tyler Bilodeau bounced back from a seven-point game in the victory over SDSU on Oct. 17 to lead UCLA with 19 points, shooting 8 of 10 from the field. Brown had a double-double. Dent finished with 16 points and eight assists.
Coming out of the SDSU game, Dent felt the on-ball screen actions lacked synergy. On Tuesday, the Bruins called for those in the opening possessions and Dent was patient and surgical. He got downhill off picks from Booker, finding space for a pair of teardrops.
“If I actually hit the guy on the screen and Donny gets downhill, he can make a whole lot of different reads out of that,” Booker said.
Later in the first half, UCLA used a three-guard configuration with Dent, Perry and Eric Freeny. It was brief, but it opened the floor significantly. Freeny, who exercised a redshirt last season, hit an in-rhythm 3-pointer for his first – unofficial – points as a Bruin.
He missed on his next three attempts from deep. There’s no questioning Freeny’s effort and physicality as he corralled five rebounds, two steals and a block, but it’s his consistency to hit outside shots that will determine his playing time.
That 3-guard rotation transitioned into a small-ball lineup with Bilodeau playing the five, alongside Brandon Williams – who also redshirted last season – Brown, Dent and Freeny.
“We can play that [lineup] when we need to,” Cronin said. “Brandon [Williams] has really improved.”
With those five sharing the court, the spacing unleashed Bilodeau.
He faced up in the short corner, dribbling into a fadeaway jumper. Then he slammed home a lob pass from Dent to complete a fastbreak sparked by Freeny palming a layup attempt from UC Irvine’s Javon Jester Jr.
Bilodeau, at that point feeling it, pulled up and swished a contested 23-foot 3-pointer. He earned himself a heat-check on the next possession, knocking down another 3, before finishing the half with a putback layup that gave UCLA a 58-27 lead.
The 6-foot-9 senior said he stayed with Cronin after practice this week to correct his shot. The coach, directing him to place a towel between his feet because they were too narrow on his release. The method clearly helped.
Bilodeau is still adjusting to the power forward spot after playing center last season. Part of that transition, Cronin said, is understanding that he won’t be open as much
“I’m still trying to find room to get more shots off,” Bilodeau said. “But I feel more natural at the four spot.”
After seeing what they needed from Dent and those two lineup variations, the Bruins handed more offensive responsibility to Booker and Perry. Kinks were certainly present.
Booker missed the mark with a pair of jumpers to open the game. Later, he showed some skill, spinning into a 15-footer. But, on his following shot, he missed the entire rim and then threw an errant pass out of bounds. He finished 5 of 11 from the field with six turnovers.
Despite saying he’s trying to turn Booker into a traditional center, Cronin expressed part of the game plan was for him to “let it fly”. So his role remains unclear.
“It’s all a work in progress,” Booker said.
With Dent on the bench for the final 20 minutes, Perry’s usage heavily increased with mixed results. He finished 1 of 8 from the field. He dribbled the ball above his shoulder and lost it out of bounds, calming his emotions just enough to stop from slamming the ball into the ground and earning a technical foul. Perry goes through every movement with his hair on fire.
“He puts too much pressure on himself,” Cronin said. “He wants to play well so badly, but that’s a good thing.”
If Perry finds a balance between effort and self-compassion, he can round out a dangerous three-headed backcourt.
The Bruins’ preseason couldn’t have gone much better. They were tested in one game and got to test things out in the other.
They open the regular season hosting Eastern Washington at 7:30 p.m. Monday. But the schedule heats up quickly, with a game against former Pac-12 rival No. 13 Arizona on Nov. 14 at the Intuit Dome.
