LOS ANGELES — When Eric Dailey Jr. entered the transfer portal he was positively confounded to see a school as big as UCLA reaching out so early into the process. He had started just half of the games during his freshman season at Oklahoma State, but there was Darren Savino’s contact popping up on his phone.
It turns out Dailey shouldn’t have been all that surprised. The UCLA coaching staff has a type, and he fits the parameters.
“We need the effort, the intensity on defense, that’ll be our style this year,” Savino, UCLA’s associate head coach, said after the Bruins’ intrasquad scrimmage on Oct. 16. “We picked the guys that we wanted, the guys that fit, that we knew would be coachable and would buy in.”
Dailey didn’t visit any other school this offseason. He bought right into that system, as did the rest of the Bruins’ restocked roster, which erased the memories of their first losing since 2016 with each block, swiping away any concerns with each steal.
Behind a strong defensive performance, 22nd-ranked UCLA beat Rider, 85-50, in its season opener on Monday night at Pauley Pavilion. The 14 turnovers the Bruins forced isn’t an eye-popping number, but their defense was stifling and it helped propel their offense.
UCLA (1-0) picked up full court off of made baskets, trapping occasionally when Rider (0-1) crossed the timeline. USC transfer Kobe Johnson had two steals, as did Oregon State transfer Tyler Bilodeau, who led the Bruins with 18 points.
The Bruins forced four turnovers in the opening four minutes. Johnson stripped the ball and pushed it in transition, finding Dailey for a layup. Skyy Clark tipped an inbounds pass, then saved the ball from going out of bounds. He capped the possession, setting up Bilodeau for a 15-footer.
Johnson’s timely double-teams surprised the Broncs’ ball-handlers throughout and his help defense stopped a number of drives.
As the Bruins pulled away, Rider began pressing in response and Johnson broke it. He coolly hit a floater and then swung the ball to Dailey for a 3-pointer from the corner.
Johnson finished with 12 points and eight rebounds in his regular-season debut. Dylan Andrews had 14 points and six assists and Dailey had nine points and eight rebounds.
The 7-foot-3 Aday Mara added another wrinkle to UCLA’s defense, specifically in the half-court. He blocked Jay Alvarado’s floater within his first minute of game action and blocked Tariq Ingraham’s hook shot later in the half. Even when he didn’t get a palm to the ball, his presence deterred Rider players from attacking the rim.
Mara seems to have a hold on the backup center job over William Kyle III, who played 11 minutes – all in the second half – and had three blocks of his own.
Then there’s the offensively gifted big man, Bilodeau. He wastes no movement. He doesn’t dribble unless he absolutely has to. He goes back up with it after offensive rebounds. He has a quick release and is decisive.
When the Bruins throw it into him, he simply gets them a basket.
He closed the first half with a pair of silky jumpers that even didn’t graze the rim and began the second half with a 15-footer and a dunk in transition off a pass from Dailey.
Sebastian Mack came off the bench and showcased his microwave scoring ability. He got so hot that when he attempted a 3-pointer from the right wing, in front of the Bruins’ bench, he turned to look at his teammates as it went in. Two possessions later, he split the Broncs’ 2-3 zone to hit a floater. He capped his 12-point performance, penetrating the lane for an and-one layup with two minutes remaining, flexing after the basket.
T.J. Weeks Jr. led the Broncs with 15 points and Alaaeddine Boutayeb had 14.
The Bruins will get to see if this defensive performance is a legitimate sign of things to come when they face New Mexico, an 11-seed in the 2024 NCAA Tournament, on Friday night in Henderson, Nevada.
More to come on this story.
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