Season Overview
Coach Cori Close is in her fourth season at UCLA
It is clear what head coach Cori Close is trying to achieve this year in Westwood. After UCLA inked the No. 1 recruiting class in the country in the fall of 2013, they are now priming a young team to learn the lessons that will pay dividends in future years. Take a look at the Bruins schedule and you will see perennial powers in women’s basketball such as Connecticut and Notre Dame. That is not to mention going on the road to Mid-Major powerhouse James Madison to open the season. They then finished the season’s opening road trip with a Sunday showdown in Chapel Hill versus North Carolina who is fresh off of an Elite 8 appearance.
This year’s freshman class is impressive with three 5-star recruits, which include Jordin Canada, Recee’ Caldwell and LaJahna Drummer. The class rounded out with 4 star prospects in Monique Billings and Kelli Hayes, who were both ranked in the top 50 nationally. Normally a class like this is reserved for the aforementioned powerhouses that the Bruins are now facing. The difference is that the Bruin freshman are seeing minutes that would normally be reserved for upperclassman. The vision in UCLA is crystal clear. If the Bruins are ever going to be able to tip the balance of power in their favor in upcoming years, they need to become battle tested right away. In addition to the freshman class, UCLA has pieces ahead of the heralded class. Junior wing Nirra Fields is quickly becoming a go-to scorer and positioning herself as an All PAC-12 candidate. While redshirt sophomore Kari Korver is a noted long range specialist, but gives valuable minutes on both ends of the floor.
Read Brandon Clay’s JumpOffPlus.com College Tour Recap of UCLA
Game Feature
December 28, 2014 the Bruins hosted Notre Dame at Pauley Pavilion, which would serve as the last game before PAC-12 play began after the new year. This game serves as a perfect barometer for the Bruins, because coach Muffet McGraw’s team is fresh off of their fourth consecutive Final 4 appearance. A quick look at the numbers will show you how much the freshman class is being relied upon for production this year.
UCLA Freshman
*Jordin Canada 27 minutes, 16 points, 3 assists
Recee Caldwell 26 minutes 6 points, 2 assists
Monique Billings 22 minutes, 5 points, 5 rebounds
LaJahana Drummer 9 minutes, 5 points, 5 rebounds
*-denotes a starter in this game
Freshman PG Recee’ Caldwell was a 5-star prospect out of high school.
Notre Dame was able to count upon the likes of Naismith Award Candidate junior guard Jewell Loyd. Given the trajectory of this talented Bruin freshman class, do not be surprised to see some of their names on that list in upcoming years. Click to see the entire Naismith Award Watch-list.
Read Brandon Clay’s Game Blog from this Game here.
Play Breakdown
From the opening tip, it is apparent that Close and her staff have done an exceptional job of communicating their expectations to their team. The Bruins showed patience in the game’s opening moments. In fact, they ran over a minute off of the clock got three offensive rebounds, reset the offense twice to run two different sets in the game’s first possession. In all the Bruins made 14 passes, set multiple screens and showed patience that many teams would not show at this time of the year.
The featured set is a high post entry action that gets the ball moving on this possession. Coaches should take away not only the action, but also how the screens set up the driving opportunities for the UCLA guards. Members can view the enitre breakdown below.
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HIGH POST DOUBLE FLARE
1. Jordin Canada resets the play after the third offensive rebound and enters the ball to the high post.
2. The alignment is a 2-3 high set and with the Bruins line up most of their player are interchangeable along the arc – the numbers in this frame are not all that important.
3. With the ball in the high post, the guards on top receive a flare screen from the wings.
*Coaching Point* Instruct your guards to take a step towards the ball to set up the defender for the screen.
4. The ball is then thrown out of the high post back to Canada who then drives the basketball hard along the baseline. This becomes a great teaching example of how to drive, space, kick and make the extra pass.
5. Canada finds a teammate who has “drifted” to the corner. The ball is then quickly swung to the top of the key and then reversed where the found Fields who knocks down the jumper.
Takeaways
-Driving lanes are set up by screens
-The ball is not dribbled unless necessary
-UCLA makes the extra pass
UCLA HP ENTRY
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Jonathan Hemingway is the owner of Coach Hemingway Basketball, Inc. He has worked within the basketball community since 1995 as a coach, camp director and journalist. He works as the assistant director of scouting for the JumpOffPlus.com and the OTRHoopsReport.com, which are scouting reports that service over 200 college and universities nationwide. Reach him via email at JonathanHemingway@PeachStateBasketball.com.
