With only five regular season games remaining on UCLA’s schedule, it seems that Bruins will win all the titles to secure a spot in the NCAA tournament. Furthermore, each game has its own pressure.
Steve Alford, the UCLA Coach shown that that it is going to be challenging.
Alford declared earlier this week that his team has not reacted under pressure. On Thursday, he said it again after his team lost to Utah and he accepted accountability for lack of mental toughness.
“That has been me and not the team,” Alford said. “This is because, any time I apply a bit of mental pressure on them, they did not manage it well.”
Since UCLA team performed better last season in a must win situations, it did not add up to him. Alford said Kevon Looney was a tough player but left for the NBA draft.
According to Alford, only two of his players, Isaac Hamilton and Bryce Alford have shown the same resilience as that of Norman Powell.
Steve Alford said, “ This is a different team and whether the talks have been more of encouragement or short term than long term, this is a team that handles that of approach way better than any other.”
Bryce Alford said that the coaches had set long-term goals such as going undefeated at home. By the end of the season, they knew exactly what they needed for them to secure a place at the NCAA tournament. This year, the coaches are more focuses on single games andsometimes shorter time frames.
“Before we start playing any game, they give us at least three key areas that we need to put more focus on,” Bryce Alford said.
Unlike the previous season, UCLA’S coach is not planning to emphasize NCAA tournament to his players.
This article is published in: News
Tags: basketball, NBA, NCAA, UCLA
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