The 3 Most Important Bruins This Basketball Season

UCLA Basketball is in the midst of a resurgence. And the season hasn’t even started yet.

Coming into this season, the Bruins have a whole lot of hype surrounding them. After much-needed transfer portal additions and younger players taking a step forward in their development, could they find their way back to the Final Four?

It’s never a sure thing, especially since out of 365 programs in the nation, you’re asking them to be in the top four. It’s one of the hardest championships to obtain, and that’s why you become immortal in college basketball history.

From the five-stars to the walk-ons, you cut down that net, you’re a part of history.

Which is why there’s so much hype around this UCLA Bruins roster.

Last season, it was rather apparent how limited UCLA was on the offensive end. The guard play was underwhelming, and Tyler Bilodeau was their leading scorer.

Bilodeau is a really solid player, and the Bruins need him to get to where they need to be. But if you’re aiming for a National Championship, Bilodeau shouldn’t be the main source of scoring.

With that, let’s run through who are the three most important Bruins for this season.

PG Donovan Dent

We’ve gone over it ad nauseam here on SI, but the point remains: Donovan Dent is everything the Bruins have needed in a lead guard since Tyger Campbell left in 2023.

Dent was a total stud at New Mexico and only got better as his college career went on. As a transfer, 247Sports listed him as a five-star — and how could you not after such an amazing season?

In his junior season at New Mexico, he averaged 20.4 points and 6.4 assists on 49% shooting. On top of that, he won the Mountain West Player of the Year.

The way Dent plays is so critical to how UCLA will operate this season. While he’s not a bad perimeter shooter, the main reason why he’s in Westwood is because of the space he creates for others.

He’s an ultimate slasher who scores most of his points inside the paint. But because he’s such a dominant driver, it forces opposing defenses to collapse and double — sometimes triple-team him.

That opens up opportunities for outside shooters.

PF/C Xavier Booker

How Booker does will ultimately determine the ceiling of the Bruins’ season.

There’s no doubt that when healthy, this team has the makings to compete for the Big Ten title. But if Booker performs even a sliver of how he was supposed to perform, this team is immediately a National Championship contender.

Booker’s career with Michigan State was highly disappointing. He wasn’t able to generate any momentum whatsoever, and Tom Izzo was unable to unlock the true potential that Booker can bring.

But UCLA thinks it can do what the Hall of Famer couldn’t. And they have the numbers to prove it.

College basketball analyst Jon Rothstein spoke to numerous UCLA staff members, and he believes that a change in his position will determine his success:

“Xavier Booker played 17 minutes or more last season nine times. His averages? 8.3 points, 3.8 rebounds, 1 block per game. And in talking to the UCLA staff, the biggest thing they showed me… was the switch in his position.”

F Eric Dailey Jr.

Sometimes, it feels like Eric Dailey Jr. flies under the radar, and maybe that isn’t so bad.

Dailey ended up being UCLA’s second-leading scorer and second-best player last season, and it seemed like he could’ve done more.

Per 40 minutes last season, Dailey averaged 19.4 points, 6.7 rebounds, and 2.2 steals.

You can see why Mick Cronin values him so much.

You want playing time on a Cronin-coached team? Playing defense is non-negotiable, and Dailey took a massive step in improving his defensive game last season.

But that’s not all he can do. He’s an athletic forward that plays like a guard. Standing at 6-foot-8, he is rather nimble and can drive to the rim at will. Not only that, he has a smooth stroke and can be deployed from 3 at any given moment.

With an emphasis on the 3-ball for this season, expect Dailey to chuck up more 3s.