It took 57 minutes for Tony Parker to get around to announcing it, but the Miller Grove HS (GA) big man committed to UCLA on Monday afternoon at a press conference.
That gives Ben Howland arguably the best class in the country. Kyle Anderson and Shabazz Muhammad are two of the top three recruits in the country. Parker is top 30. Jordan Adams is top 75. That’s quite a bit of talent to bring into a program.
But does it guarantee the Bruins success?
Frankly, no. The issue with UCLA’s roster isn’t the talent, because there is an abundance of that. The issue is the makeup of the roster:
– Who is going to be UCLA’s point guard? Kyle Anderson is the easy answer, and given his skill set, he should be able to facilitate the Bruin’s offense. He’s an excellent passer and playmaker that can create his own shot off the dribble. But he’s also slow-footed and 6-foot-8. I know the argument: so was Magic Johnson. But Anderson is no Magic. Calling him Jalen Rose may even be a stretch. Can he bring the ball up the floor if he’s being hawked by a smaller, quicker guard?
More importantly, if he is running the point for the Bruins, who is he going to defend? Will Howland put him on the three defensively and slide Tyler Lamb and Shabazz Muhammad onto the other team’s back court? Will UCLA go zone? Or will Kyle Anderson’s physical tools force Howland into playing Larry Drew major minutes?
– How will Parker and Josh Smith share the floor? Both are big, both are strong and both are powerful low-post presences. In other words, they are the same player. What happened with UConn this season should give you concern about two unproven centers sharing the floor. Along those same lines, will Josh Smith’s aversion to exercise rub off on Parker, who is checking in at 270 lb himself?
– Will Howland have enough front court minutes to go around? In addition to Smith and Parker, both of the Wear twins and Anthony Stover will need minutes. Anderson, Muhammad and Adams can all be considered small forwards as well, meaning that you can legitimately say UCLA’s roster has eight front court players and two back court players. How will that work?
– Most importantly, however, is the question of whether or not Howland will be able to get all of that talent to be able to play together. He’s had talented recruiting classes before (see: 2009), and we all saw how that played out. The SI article from February should make you even more concerned about his ability to manage talent.
UCLA will be one of the most talented teams in the country heading into 2012-2013 and will likely be found somewhere near the top of most preseason top 25 lists. They probably deserve that consideration, but there is still plenty for this team to prove before you give them a free-pass to the Final Four.
Rob Dauster is the editor of the college basketball website Ballin’ is a Habit. You can find him on twitter @robdauster.
