One of the best parts about this year’s UCLA Bruin basketball team is their depth. Any given game a different player could be the team’s leading scorer. That was proven this week with three Bruins being named finalists for positional awards.
Lauren Betts was named a finalist for the Lise Leslie Center of the Year Award, Gianna Kneepkens was named a finalist for the Ann Meyers-Drysdale Shooting Guard of the Year Award and Gabriela Jaquez was named a finalist for the Cheryl Miller Small Forward of the Year Award.
The only two members of the UCLA starting five not to get named finalists are Charlisse Leger-Walker and Kiki Rice. Rice and Leger-Walker share point guard duties for the Bruins and have excelled in their roles this season, with Rice winning the Most Outstanding Player last week in the Big Ten Conference tournament.
Despite UCLA playing in the very tough Big Ten Conference, the Bruins are Top-25 in scoring offense and defense. UCLA is the No. 2 rebounding team in the nation and is sixth in three-point percentage.
The Bruins defensive and rebounding prowess is even more impressive with UCLA pairing Betts with four smaller guards in the starting lineup, even if Jaquez is considered a small forward for the Cheryl Miller Award. UCLA having four shooters on the court at all times opens up the paint for Betts and has led to a vast improvement in the Bruins long-range shooting.
This UCLA team is a juggernaut, but to become national champions, they’ll have to knock off some fellow juggernauts. UConn, LSU, South Carolina and Texas accompany the Bruins atop many of the categories, with the top five teams in the country all having a chance to bring home the NCAA title.
This article originally appeared on UCLA Wire: UCLA Bruins have finalists for awards at three of five positions
Reporting by Dylan McNeill, UCLA Wire / UCLA Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
