With UCLA's 2023-24 season unceremoniously coming to an end Thursday afternoon, all eyes now turn to the transfer portal.
There's a lot to suss out moving forward for Mick Cronin's team. The first order of business should include trying to keep Adem Bona in school. With a competitive NIL package, one would imagine the Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year returning to school rather than risk being a second-round pick.
The experiment in having a seven-man freshmen class certainly didn't work. We aren't too sure if Cronin will opt to sign four players from overseas in one class again, either.
At the very least, this team desperately needs to acquire shooting. As such, this is where we come to UPenn transfer guard Clark Slajchert.
One of the most prolific scorers in the Ivy League this past year, Slajchert announced that he will transfer from UPenn in search of another opportunity. As has been reported by Joe Tipton (among others), UCLA is one of the schools that have expressed interest in the guard.
Slajchert has been with the Quakers for four years. The Ivy League lost one year to the pandemic. As such, Slajchert has played three years for the team. This past year as a senior, he led the team in scoring (18.0 PPG). Slajchert shot. 487 from the field and .422 from three-point range in the process.
UCLA was one of the worst three-point shooting teams in Division 1 this past year. The Bruins collectively connected on only 33.5 percent of their attempts from beyond the arc.
Slajchert would fill a need there. Duly, Cronin would probably love the fact that Slajchert is a high-character athlete with strong leadership skills. Stylistically, the California native is clever with the ball. He negotiates screens immensely well and loves getting into the lane -- where he converts on a plethora of different finishes within the painted area.
At the very worst, you'd be looking at a veteran scoring guard off the bench who could give you quality minutes in a pinch.
Slajchert grew up a stone's throw from UCLA's campus in a suburb of Los Angeles. Coincidentally, he competed head-to-head in high school with former UCLA great Jaime Jaquez Jr.
Slajchert also comes from a very athletic family. His father Davis played for a spell at Yale. Older brothers JD (UCSB) and Wes (Dartmouth) both played college basketball as well.
Based on how UCLA's roster shakes out, it'll be interesting to see whether Slajchert is provided the opportunity to join the squad. One would have to think the Bruins stand a decent chance to land him considering the athletic profile and academic profile of the school -- not to mention the distance from Slajchert's hometown.
More must-reads: