Guys… UCLA looks REALLY good!

[u/Ecstatic-Ad8650]

I went to the Cal-UCLA exhibition today, and while I know this is a whole new roster, I think Cori Close definitely knows what she’s doing. Today they played the whole roster, and the contribution from the “bench” (which was really a bench in name only and not in minutes!) was spectacular. Every single player scored, and FIVE were in double figures! Lots of defensive hustle all around. Freshman Somto Okafor looks fantastic; and both Elina Aarnisalo and KK Branford look phenomenal to start the year—like they’re certainly in the right place!

Anyway… lots of media outlets and even Redditors have written off this team after the championship run, and I wouldn’t be so hasty! Of course they have lots of kinks to sort out still, but for a team that’s only just learning how to play together, they look great. And you’ve gotta love Close’s commitment to TEAM basketball!

[u/CollegeGolf69]

Cal is a bottom 3rd ACC team so pump the breaks a bit here.

[u/lavistadad → u/CollegeGolf69]

No they are not bottom 3rd. They are solid middle of the conference. UCLA dominated, but it was an especially bad matchup on the interior. Betts is doing her best big sister impression.

[u/CollegeGolf69 → u/lavistadad]

They have no P4 posts and are very young. They were voted 10th in the poll and it’s really not a stretch at all to say they finished 12th or lower. They finished 1 game out of 13th last year and they got worse this year.

[u/patsweetpat → u/CollegeGolf69]

To be voted 10th out of 17 and call that "bottom third" is a relatively-uncharitable designation, maybe? Also not mathematically accurate?

[u/CollegeGolf69 → u/patsweetpat]

You must be equating the preseason poll to exactly where they’ll finish at the end of the year. But if you read, I said they were voted 10th but it’s not a stretch to think they finish in the bottom third given their roster construction. Good one though.

[u/patsweetpat → u/CollegeGolf69]

Okay, fair enough, so when you said "Cal is a bottom 3rd ACC team" you mean that's how *YOU* personally assess them, not how the ACC preseason poll's 76 voters assess them. Yeah?

[u/CollegeGolf69 → u/patsweetpat]

Exactly. Preseason poll isn’t gospel. Lolllll

[u/patsweetpat → u/CollegeGolf69]

Got it.

[u/CollegeGolf69 → u/patsweetpat]

Just ask Stanford and Florida State last year.

[u/norcalnick → u/CollegeGolf69]

Young? They're returning 4 of their 5 most important players from last year. How far Cal goes likely depends on what contribution they get from their incoming euros, but they're not notably young.

[u/CollegeGolf69 → u/norcalnick]

When you have 6 FR/SO who are likely going to see time, that’s a young team in today’s college basketball world. They will get eaten alive in the post by everyone they play.

Losing Sakima and Puff will hurt, but you’re correct that they are retuning 4 players…but that’s pretty much it.

[u/triggertheplug → u/lavistadad]

Yeah they are the #35 rated team in the country in Torvik’s preseason rankings and the game was at their place, struggling to see how a 30+ point win isn’t a fairly impressive exhibition outcome for a brand new team lol

[u/CollegeGolf69 → u/triggertheplug]

Sure. Let’s take Torvik as gospel when they have TCU as #166 and 15th in the Big 12.

Guess they are going to suck!

[u/triggertheplug → u/CollegeGolf69]

Nobody said Gospel, but Torvik is a good resource that I was using to point out that in season this would most likely be the equivalent of a Q1 road win (a weaker one, but still).

That’s obviously not a reflection of what TCU will be or what any model thinks of them, it was apparently an issue with their roster not being uploaded yet to the NCAA, so kind of a weird thing to cherry pick.

[u/CollegeGolf69 → u/triggertheplug]

Last year Cal preseason Torvik was 41 and by mid-December, they were in the 60’s before settling in the low 50’s. Let’s let the season play out before regarding a road exhibition game as a Q1 win when UCLA kids were on a minutes restriction and Cal’s starting PG didn’t even play.

[u/triggertheplug → u/CollegeGolf69]

For sure! I said it was an impressive exhibition outcome and while I disagreed with completely dismissing the opponent, it’s kinda inherent to the term exhibition that it’s ultimately worth a grain of salt in terms of season long team performance. But I still think it’s a good enough opponent that you’re getting quality reps in, and positive indicators that the program might have something in Somto. Plenty of room to look at things in their proper context and still be excited about what you see lol

[u/SimonaMeow → u/triggertheplug]

Love this comment!

[u/SimonaMeow → u/CollegeGolf69]

TCU at 166 is hilarious

I know it's because they didn't upload their roster in time, but it is still funny ah to me

Because we all know that they will be so much better than that

[u/SimonaMeow → u/lavistadad]

They will sadly be near the bottom 😭

[u/paintedtoesandelbows → u/CollegeGolf69]

No, they aren’t. Jesus.

[u/CollegeGolf69 → u/paintedtoesandelbows]

Based on what?

[u/paintedtoesandelbows → u/CollegeGolf69]

Based on their finish the past two seasons and their preseason prediction this season. Do you enjoy getting cooked for thinking that your opinion supersedes fact?

[u/CollegeGolf69 → u/paintedtoesandelbows]

So a preseason poll is “fact” now? Ask Florida State, picked 9th last year and finished 14th. Ask Stanford, picked 6th and finished T11. Polls miss by a few spots every year.

Cal was a game out of 13th last season, lost Sakima Walker without replacing her, and is leaning on freshmen for depth. Projecting them 12th or 13th isn’t me ignoring facts. It’s me actually reading them.

[u/paintedtoesandelbows → u/CollegeGolf69]

FACT: Cal finished 7th in 2025 and 10th in 2026. Why are you so damn hellbent on ignoring this?

And yes, your unwillingness to consider FACT is you attempting to ignore it. It’s not going anywhere, bud.

[u/CollegeGolf69 → u/paintedtoesandelbows]

Nobody’s disputing 7th and 10th. That’s where they finished. I’m talking about where they finish this year, which no amount of caps lock makes a fact either.

Iowa State finished 7th the last two years in the Big 12. Does that make you think they are going to finish 7th again even though they, on paper, are worse this season? I'd hope not.

Cal has slid in the ACC two years running, they lost Sakima Walker, and are leaning on freshmen. Three spots lower isn’t a stretch. Check back in February, bud.

[u/paintedtoesandelbows → u/CollegeGolf69]

“Where they finished” = FACTS

You are disputing facts. You keep disputing facts despite people cooking you.

I don’t care enough about Cal to check back on anything. You need to chill and stop so that people aren’t cooking you all up and down this thread.

[u/CollegeGolf69 → u/paintedtoesandelbows]

I literally said “nobody’s disputing 7th and 10th.”

I guess Cal has to finish 10th or better because they have the previous two years. You got me.

I just don't think you understand that I'm talking about where I think they'll finish this year.

[u/paintedtoesandelbows → u/CollegeGolf69]

You snapped at people who didn’t agree with your PREDICTION. Your PREDICTION is not fact. While you gave your opinion on why you believe that a non-bottom 1/3 ACC Cal team will descend into the bottom 1/3, you gave no thought (surprise surprise) as to which teams could cause them to descend to the bottom 1/3. Not one time in your multiple diatribes did you cite improvement from this team or improvement from that team. All you said is that Cal is going to take a step back because of factors you listed. As if Cal’s season is happening in a vacuum.

Take the L and move TF on.

[u/MobileOpening3619]

OMG i was also there and that was NOT at all the impression that I had LOL

[u/Ecstatic-Ad8650 → u/MobileOpening3619]

First half was rough but they made good adjustments! Frankly Amanda Muse (#33) is unplayable and once Close gives up on her height I think some of the messier stuff will be instantly cleaned up

[u/patsweetpat → u/Ecstatic-Ad8650]

The problem is that, with the loss of Lena, the frontcourt is not very deep. Certainly not relative to the Bruin backcourt. I think UCLA *needs* Muse... and they'll DEFINTELY need her if Addy, or Sienna, or Timea go down.

UCLA just doesn't have the luxury of giving up on Amanda.

[u/goofyhalo → u/patsweetpat]

Well she did score when she played tonight at least, although she played sparingly and it was just one single bucket so…

[u/buffalotrace]

They have a lot of talent. sienna is not her sister. She is smaller but has lighter feet. She is gonna be a breakout star this yr. Aarnisalo is a legit guard and Addy Brown was the best all around player at iowa st. They will be good

[u/goofyhalo → u/buffalotrace]

Gardiner is also being slept on. I think she’s in for a big year similar to her Oregon State days.

[u/buffalotrace → u/goofyhalo]

Yeah. The spacing she is going to give that offense is huge

[u/Dirk_Benedict]

I liked what I saw but I think it will definitely take most of the season to get everyone to gel. Aarnisalo looked great and will be shouldering a big load running the offense. Coach gave a bunch of the bench some good run. I think this year is going to be fun but will have some growing pains.

[u/global-gamer]

Okafor is going to be a problem. Highly rated recruit who we aren’t talking enough about yet

[u/goofyhalo → u/global-gamer]

Yes Okafor and Aarnisalo will tear up opposing defenses they will both be forces!

[u/nstutzman28]

Ball knower...

[u/SimonaMeow]

I don't think anyone is sleeping on UCLA. They have lots of talent. There's a lot to be excited about. I've mostly seen them picked top 5 to 7 in the Big Ten which is very very good.

Scrimmage scores do indicate some things but not necessarily as much as we would like. Many times teams are tinkering with line ups, trying out new things. They aren't necessarily strategized by the coaches in the same way.

I'm curious if you've looked very closely at other top teams and who they have in comparison? It might make you feel better about UCLA being a very very good team and then being ranked where they are.

I know they will be fun to watch and good, but I think some newer fans are expecting something close to last year's team.

Glad you had fun at the game!

[u/whoneedskollege → u/SimonaMeow]

Yeah, I think it's more encouraging to me that our fan base is excited for the upcoming season rather than taking away too much from this exhibition. I think it will be fun to be in the Big 10 and national conversation again even though So Cal is taking up a lot of the media's bandwidth (and rightly so). It's going to be a very interesting season - I can't wait for it to start.

[u/Ecstatic-Ad8650 → u/SimonaMeow]

Oh I’m not a new fan— been a diehard for almost ten years! I’ve seen a lot of chatter saying their ceiling is the sweet sixteen or maaaaybe elite eight and, having watched other UCLA sweet sixteen teams, I think this team has more potential than that. I don’t necessarily think they’re ranked unfairly at present, but up until UCLA whooped South Carolina last year, ESPN had completely written them off as a contender. So I’m just wary of that happening again!

[u/SimonaMeow → u/Ecstatic-Ad8650]

I knew they were at minimum Final 4 last year and was pretty sure they'd win.

I don't see them getting beyond the Elite 8 this year though. Too many other teams have strengthened their rosters too much. I'd love to be wrong, and injuries always change things a lot for teams. I think they will be Sweet 16 team and with luck could make the Elite 8.

Last year's team had many top recruits, most had played together for years, etc etc.

[u/goofyhalo → u/SimonaMeow]

Yeah last year I was the only one in my family that thought UCLA was winning it all. I just had this gut feeling. It’s like they were hungry and they kept pushing and pushing even when other teams would almost get them (like Duke for the first three quarters). I think out of all the teams last year, UCLA had the best culture on and off the court and that’s why they won because it reflected in their play. The girls did whatever it took to win the games and didn’t care about personal stats.

This year even though they may not repeat as champions, they still have a solid team culture and the bench players are solid as well (Bransford looked good last night coming off the bench for example). I think they definitely have a shot at hosting the first and second rounds and maybe making the Sweet 16.

[u/SimonaMeow → u/goofyhalo]

Yeah that's around where I have them too.

I think a lot of teams have that same great culture but with less talent than UCLA had last year. They definitely have a good team this year just not the same level of talent.

It will be interesting to see if Gottlieb at USC can pull her team of stars together with that same team energy. Love Juju. But it will be interesting to see how they all gel.

[u/buffalotrace → u/goofyhalo]

Close does a great job investing into the players as people. They won in large part because they were not only more talented but also older than every team they faced. You can’t coach experience.

[u/kystroup]

Arnisalo is a good player. Kind of a lame move to bail on UNC after they gave her the opportunities last year that UCLA wouldn't but I do understand it with Harpring coming in and Kelly (hopefully) getting healthy.

[u/SimonaMeow → u/kystroup]

I have to respect her for not being a ring chaser though and doing the best things to develop her game

She was more like a ring avoider lol.

She could have stayed at UCLA and gotten a ring doing very little

[u/BeginningCourage1205]

UCLA will not be as bad as we thought or as good as last years team. Cal will not give you a good read on this team or USC who plays them on the 25th. We have to see when they play a real team.

[u/Deltiologenist]

I was there