UCLA Basketball: Freshman Guard Maximized Time With Shorthanded Bruins Tuesday

No Dylan Andrews, Aday Mara, Berke Buyuktuncel or Adem Bona? No problem, apparently, as your UCLA Bruins managed to demolish the visiting Cal State Dominguez Hills Toros last night in a Halloween exhibition, 97-56, even without 4/5 of their projected starting five. Expected starting shooting guard Will McClendon was available, but had an inefficient night, scoring a scant five points on 1-of-5 field goal shooting.

After the nights they had Tuesday, freshman guard Sebastian Mack and junior transfer swingman Lazar Stefanovic might take umbrage with their anticipated bench designation. 

Mack in particular looked like something special, albeit while playing a far inferior opponent. The four-star recruit out of Coronado High School in Henderson, Nevada scored a team-most 23 points, dished out seven dimes, pulled down two boards, rejected two shots and swiped one steal.

Per UCLA, the 6'3" freshman spoke after the game about getting his extended run last night, with both Andrews and McClendon sitting.

“On that floor, our guys trust us because we compete so much in practice," Mack said. "They know we’re always going to have their back, with or without them because we’re a team. We’ve got to be like Navy SEALs. We are going to be packed in and locked in with each other. I’m pretty sure those guys already knew what was going to happen in the aspect of how we were going to come out there and play.”

This dialed-in, militaristic approach to the team is encouraging. Mack isn't messing around, even before the official start of his collegiate career. It's clear this is a man on a mission. He's an exciting addition to have on this already-talented Bruins roster.

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