Sports
UCLA Men's Basketball Attends Pac-12 Media Day – UCLA – UCLA Athletics
Men’s Basketball
LAS VEGAS – UCLA junior Lazar Stefanovic and sophomore Adem Bona served as the UCLA men’s basketball student-athlete representatives at Pac-12 Media Day on Wednesday, hosted at Park MGM in Las Vegas.
Stefanovic and Bona were joined by Mick Cronin, who enters his fifth year as The Michael Price Family UCLA Men’s Head Basketball Coach. The Bruins’ duo of Stefanovic and Bona, along with Coach Cronin, participated in various interviews with members of print, broadcast and online media, in addition to taping multiple promotional videos to be used during the season by the league’s broadcast partners.
Earlier on Wednesday morning, UCLA was selected third in the conference’s annual preseason media poll. The Bruins received four of 26 total first-place votes in the league’s preseason poll. Arizona was picked first in the 12-team poll, followed by USC.
UCLA compiled a 31-6 overall record last season, finishing in first place in the league’s regular-season standings. The Bruins advanced to the NCAA Tournament’s Sweet 16 for the third straight year after having clinched their first Pac-12 regular-season crown since 2013.
“We tried to be healthy going into the NCAA Tournament last year and failed miserably, with Jaylen Clark and Adem Bona going down,” Cronin said in his opening remarks on Wednesday (full transcript available here). “That really defined the end of our season. But this year, we’re going to have to get better as we go. We’ve just got to get experience and get better as we go and make adjustments as we go. You have to adjust as a coach.”
Earlier in the week, Bona was selected as one of the league’s 10 selections to the preseason All-Pac-12 first team. The Pac-12 also unveiled a five-man list of second team selections. Freshman center Aday Mara was recognized as one of four “honorable mention” selections on the league’s preseason team.
“My role is going to be bigtime this year, on the team,” Bona told the media. “I have guys like Lazar on the team to support me. And then young guys, like [Aday] Mara, Berke [Buyuktuncel]. It’s going to be huge step up for me offensively, and I think I’m ready to take the step.”
UCLA is scheduled to return to Pauley Pavilion presented by Wescom for an exhibition game against Cal State Dominguez Hills on Tuesday, Oct. 31. The Bruins’ exhibition game time and broadcast information has not been determined.
UCLA’s regular-season schedule begins against Saint Francis University on Monday, Nov. 6. Game time of the season opener is 8:30 p.m. (PT) in Pauley Pavilion.
The Bruins’ season ticket packages for the 2023-24 men’s basketball campaign are now available. Fans can call (310) 206-5991 or email tickets@athletics.ucla.edu for more information. Single-game tickets for UCLA’s nonconference home games will be available later this month. For more information about tickets, call UCLA Athletic Sales & Service at (310) 206-5991 or via email at tickets@athletics.ucla.edu.
Thanks for visiting !
The use of software that blocks ads hinders our ability to serve you the content you came here to enjoy.
We ask that you consider turning off your ad blocker so we can deliver you the best experience possible while you are here.
Thank you for your support!
