With the start of the basketball season of the college at the beginning of November, Inside the Hall is watching a team-for-team at the Big Ten and a player-for-one player looks at the schedule of IU basketball.
Today our team reviews will continue with UCLA.
Earlier: Penn State, Rutgers, Minnesota, Northwestern, Washington, Nebraska, Maryland, Iowa, Wisconsin, Oregon, USC, Michigan State, Ohio State
Despite a four-game losing series at the beginning of January, UCLA recovered the piece and won 13 Big Ten matches in his inaugural season at the conference.
De Bruins ended with a record of 23-11, earned a no. 7 seed in the NCAA tournament 2025 and went on to the round of 32 before he fell to Tennessee.
Mick Cronin will combine a strong recurring cast with a few important transfer portal additives to form one of the most formidable grilles of the BIG that enter the 2025-26 season.
The departure of Dylan Andrews and Sebastian Mack, who both entered the transfer portal, made finding the guard with a necessity for Cronin. He went outside and got one of the best players available in the transfer Donovan Dent in New Mexico.
The 6-foot-2 lead Guard was dominant for the Lobos last season, which led the program to the NCAA tournament and a win over Marquette in the opening round. Dent had 16 Kenpom game MVPs last season, who finished sixth in the country. He on average 20.4 points, 6.4 assists, 2.3 rebounds and 1.4 steals in 35.3 minutes per game.
Dent, a 40.9 percent 3-point shooter last season, also shot 78.4 percent out of the free saucepin. His assistant rate was 23rd in the country. Not many guards in the country can find the balance between scorer and facilitator such as Dent, making him a strong candidate for All-Big Ten First Team Sounds that enter the season.
He will probably be accompanied by Skyy Clark on the starting half, a senior guard who had an average of 8.5 points, 2.8 rebounds and 2.7 assists last season. After starting his career in Illinois and then playing in the 2023-24 season in Louisville, Clark found a house in Westwood. He shot 39.7 percent on 3S last season and would fit nicely alongside Dent as a combo guard.
UCLA also returns second -year guard Trent Perry. The 6-foot-4 Perry, a former all-American of McDonald, gained valuable experience last season as a first-year student and his role should increase considerably with the transfers of Andrews and Mack. Perry on average 3.7 points in 11.3 minutes per match last season while he shot 34.3 percent at 3s.
Redshirt first-year student Eric Freeny, a 3-star recruit in the 2024 class, can also crack the rotation of the guard. De Bruins added an experienced security guard in Kansas City Transfer Jamar Brown, who had an average of 17 points and last season 40.2 percent shot at 3s. Brown earned All-Summit League Second Team Honors last season.
On the wing, 6-foot-8 Junior Eric Dailey Jr. shift to his more natural position. Dailey on average 11.4 points, four rebounds and shot 37.8 percent at 3s last season in 23.5 minutes per game. Dailey Jr. Last season often played out of position for De Bruins and will be a matchup problem among the three for most Big to opponents.
Redshirt second-year attacker Brandon Williams Redshirt last season after an average of 3.1 points and 2.2 Rebounds as a first-year student for the Bruins in the 2023-24 season. On 6-foot-7 he will offer forward depth behind Dailey Jr.
Tyler Bilodeau, a 6-foot-9 senior, is the leading recurring scorer from UCLA. Although he is struggling defensively, Bilodeau is one of the most versatile front court players in the competition attacking. He can shoot the 3, down the ranking and score on the edge against smaller defenders. The Washington resident was an average of 13.5 points, 4.6 rebounds, 1.5 assists and shot 40 percent at 3s last season.
Cronin will probably have a platoon with the five with Michigan State Transfer Xavier Booker and San Diego Transfer Steven Jamerson II.
The career of Booker never started in the state of Michigan after studying as a top 10-prospect nationwide in the 2024 class. The 6-foot-11 booker, now a junior, runs well on the floor, but tends to drive to the circumference and hunting 3-PINTERS. While booker can make that shot, UCLA will try to use it more as a border running five who can block shots and plays at the edge.
The 6-foot-10 Jamerson, a Senior Redshirt, on average 10 points and 7.8 rebounds last season while he shot 55.7 percent. If Booker does not get the job on the glass, Jamerson will do that.
North Carolina Central Transfer Anthony Peoples Jr. is in the best case a probably depth piece, has a size on 6-foot-9 and on average five points and 2.4 rebounds.
The Ministry of Defense is a non-negotiable for Cronin and De Bruins rode their defense for 23 victories last season. According to Kenpom.com, UCLA had the 14th best defense in the country and became fifth in the turnover percentage. The formula will be the same this winter, but the benefit must be offensive with the addition of dent.
Bottom Line: De Bruins are a top 10 team in the projections of Bart Torvik and have one of the best guards in the country in Dent. After missing the NCAA tournament in 2024, Cronin got things back on the right track last season on UCLA and would have to take a step forward this winter. On paper, the Bruins have a second weekend team and a selection that can compete for a top-four competition finish.
Sacrifice: “He is an All-League player for a reason. He will certainly show us what he will bring to us for us this year. And to be honest, it is the same thing we have seen when we played against him. … We know what he can do, and we know why he is here and we know what we need him for.” – Dailey Jr. at dent And what he can bring to UCLA this season.
(Photocredit: UCLA Athletics)
See more: Comments, 2025-26 Big Ten Preview, UCLA Bruins
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