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Lazeric Jones was named the MVP for UCLA's basketball team during the team banquet Monday night.

Jones, a senior guard, led the Bruins in scoring (13.5 ppg), assists (4.1 apg), steals (1.8 spg) and in three-point field goals made (48). He was the only player to start all 33 games in the 2011-12 season and was named second-team All Pac-12.

Sophomore guard Tyler Lamb was named the team's outstanding defensive player and guard Norman Powell was named freshman of the year. Powell and sophomore forward Travis Wear were named co-winners of the most improved award and Wear also won the award for team free throw champion after shooting 79.1 percent (68-for-86) on free trows to rank eighth in the Pac-12.

Sophomore forward David Wear also was a two-time winner on the evening, claiming the team rebounding leader award after leading the squad with 202 rebounds and the outstanding team play award.

Junior forward Brendan Lane claimed the Elvin C. "Ducky" Drake Memorial Award for Competitive Spirit, Inspiration and Unselfish Contributions while senior walk-on guard Tyler Trapani earned his second consecutive UCLA Faculty Athletic Representative Award for academic achievement and team contribution.

Complete list of the 2012 UCLA Men's Basketball Awards Banquet Honors:

• Bob "Ace" Calkins Memorial Award/Free Throw Champion
  Travis Wear, So., F
• Elvin C. "Ducky" Drake Memorial Award/Competitive Spirit, Inspiration and Unselfish Contributions
  Brendan Lane, Jr., F
• Bruin Hoopsters J.D. Morgan Memorial Award/Outstanding Team Play
  David Wear, So., F
• UCLA Faculty Athletic Representative Award/Academic Achievement and Team Contribution
  Tyler Trapani, Sr., G
• Seymour Armond Memorial Award/Most Valuable Freshman
  Norman Powell, Fr., G
• Bruin Bench Basketball Award/Most Improvement in All-Around Play and Mental Attitude
  Travis Wear, So., F/Norman Powell, Fr., G
• Irv Pohlmeyer Memorial Award/Outstanding Defensive Player
  Tyler Lamb, So. G
• UCLA Alumni Association Award/Team Assist Leader
  Lazeric Jones, Sr., G
• Gerald A. Finerman Award/Team Rebounding Leader
  David Wear, So., G
• Coach John Wooden Award/Most Valuable Player
  Lazeric Jones, Sr., G

UCLA reserve forward Brendan Lane plans to graduate early and transfer to another school, he said Tuesday.

Lane, a 6-foot-9 junior, will enroll in graduate school at his new destination and therefore will be able to play without sitting out a season under the graduate transfer rule. He will have one year of eligibility remaining. Lane averaged 1.6 points and 1.8 rebounds in 19 games and 6.6 minutes per game this season.

"It's hard," Lane said. "I've been here three years and the coaches have been supportive and my teammates have been supportive. It's been a really tough decision, but I've got to make the decision that is best for me."

Lane will graduate with a degree in economics and has the option of extending his graduation until next year by adding classes toward a minor degree, but said he isn't interested in doing that.

Lane was among the top-20 power forward recruits in the nation out of Rocklin High School, but never quite developed into a top-level player with the Bruins. He averaged 2.4 points in 10 minutes a game as a freshman and three points and 3.1 rebounds in 15 minutes a game last season.

This year, his playing time diminished because of the emergence of David and Travis Wear, twin transfers from North Carolina who play the same position as Lane.

"It's a little bit of an issue, but mostly academics is the most important part right now," Lane said. "I want to focus on graduating and getting somewhere I can go and obviously someplace I can play, too."

Lane said he hadn't yet begun to explore possible schools and that he could stay close to home or "have the experience away from California." Coach Ben Howland said he will do all he can to help Lane find a school and said it would most likely be a "mid-major institution."

"Brendan has been absolutely fantastic in terms of the type of kid he is," Howland said. "He's someone that I will always have great appreciation and affection for. ... We'll try to help him find the possibly situation both academically and that also fits the opportunity where you know that you're going to have a great chance to start and play your last year of college basketball and really have a great experience with that."

UCLA completed a season sweep over Arizona State with a 66-57 Pac-12 victory Thursday in Tempe, Ariz. Here's a quick look at the game:

OVERVIEW: UCLA started slow but took the lead midway through the first half and never trailed again, but it wasn't easy to hold off the pesky Sun Devils.

Every time it appeared as if the Bruins had seized some momentum and were about to blow open a big lead, the Sun Devils rallied and kept within striking distance. The Bruins took a six-point lead late in the first half, but it dwindled to 25-24 by halftime.

UCLA had a 46-37 lead with 11:31 to play, but Arizona state rallied back to make it 47-43 a minute and a half later. Even down the stretch, when UCLA finally put the game away by opening a 66-49 lead with 2:25 to play, Arizona State made a run and really could have made things interesting if a couple of 3-point shots had fallen.

Still, the Bruins did what they needed to in winning on the road against one of the Pac-12's lower-tier teams. Lazeric Jones had 20 points to lead UCLA (16-12, 9-6 Pac-12) and David Wear added 13 points and seven rebounds for the Bruins.

Jonathan Gilling led Arizona State (8-20, 4-12) with 17 points and Trent Lockett added 13 points despite making only 3-of-11 shots.

TURNING POINT: After struggling to make a game-clinching run for most of the game, the Bruins finally took control with a 17-4 run that turned a 49-45 lead with 8:42 left to play into a 66-49 lead with 2:25 left.

The Bruins held Arizona State to 1-of-7 shooting during that stretch while connecting on eight of nine shots of their own. Jones and Wear each scored five points during the run, including a 3-pointer by Jones that gave UCLA 56-46 lead for the first double-digit lead of the game with 7:10 to play.

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LOS ANGELES -- UCLA completed a season sweep of crosstown rival USC with a 64-54 Pac-12 victory Wednesday night at the Sports Arena.

The Bruins (15-11, 8-6 Pac-12) took control early in the game and then held off a late rally by USC (6-21, 1-13) to hand the Trojans their fifth consecutive loss and 14th in the last 15 games. It was UCLA's third consecutive victory over the Trojans and the Bruins improved to 44-20 all time against USC at the Sports Arena.

"It was good to sweep the Trojans," UCLA coach Ben Howland said. "That’s always a good thing for us. Believe me, I was worried sick to my gut about this game playing right here in their back yard in what used to be their facility."

The Trojans are playing with a roster that includes only six active scholarship players as they have lost five to season-ending injuries since last summer. Howland came away impressed that the Trojans fought back Wednesday after being down by as many as 23 midway through the second half and cutting the lead to 10 with 1:34 to play.

"They’ve been through about as rough a year as you can have with all the adversity and injuries so I give Kevin [O'Neill] and his staff a lot of credit for keeping those kids to where they’re down here at the very end of the season fighting like it’s the beginning of the year," Howland said.

Five observations from the game:

1The Wear twins had USC seeing double

Twins David and Travis Wear had their best combined game as Bruins with a total of 30 points and 24 rebounds between them. They each had a double-double marking the first time in their college careers that has happened.

The 6-foot-10 twins had a distinct size advantage against USC, which doesn't play anybody taller than 6-7, but they also had motivation after each played poorly Saturday against Cal, when they combined to shoot 5-for-19 from the field and had 14 points and eight rebounds.

"I was especially hard on myself because of how I played," said David Wear, who had 16 points and a career-high 13 rebounds. "I only had one rebound, I think, and that’s unacceptable. I really used that as motivation coming into Monday and Tuesday. I knew that to turn it around I was going to have to play harder and come with a different mindset."

The Wears scored 14 of UCLA's final 15 points, continuing to play hard as USC was trying to get back in the game. Howland said he was pleased to see his sophomore transfers from North Carolina respond to their poor performance from the previous game.

"They came out with a sense of purpose and direction to play tougher, play more physical and go hard to the offensive glass," Howland said. "We need that form both of them as we go forward down the stretch."

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LOS ANGELES -- UCLA finally seems to have learned how to hold on to a lead.

After building a reputation this season for letting leads slip away late in games, the Bruins withstood a late-game charge for the second consecutive game and defeated Stanford, 72-61, in a Pac-12 Conference game Thursday night at the Sports Arena.

Despite making only 9-of-16 free throws in the final 1:52, UCLA (14-10, 7-5) held off Stanford (16-8, 6-6), which had pulled to within three points at 56-53 with 4:45 to play. It was the fourth win in five games for UCLA, which also held off a late run in a 63-60 victory Saturday at Washington State. UCLA has now won 10 consecutive home games including six in a row at the Sports Arena.

"I was proud of our poise," coach Ben Howland said. "I was pleased with the poise that we showed when they made a comeback and made a run and fought our way through it."

The Bruins broke a sixth-place tie in the conference standings and are now two games behind leaders Washington and California with a game Saturday at 1 p.m. against California at the Sports Arena.
Five observations from the game:

1Lazeric Jones wasn't going to let it get away again

Jones scored a game-high 21 points to go along with six assists and six steals, more than making amends for his final-second decision that cost UCLA the game last time UCLA played Stanford.

In that 60-59 loss, Jones drove to the basket and tried to penetrate, but had his shot blocked at the buzzer instead of finding a wide open Tyler Lamb or stopping for a jump shot. Thursday, he played the entire game as if he were on a mission to make up for that play.

"We were upset that we got that loss up there," Jones said.

Jones basically won the game in a stretch of about a minute and a half when he made a 3-pointer with 3:35 to play after Stanford had pulled to within three at 56-53. On the next possession he hit Jerime Anderson for a jump shot with 2:44 to play and then scored on a layup on the next UCLA possession as the Bruins opened a 63-53 lead. He got a steal on the other end of the court and Anderson made one of two free throws after getting fouls and UCLA had a 64-53 lead with 1:52 to play.

He also made the highlight play of the night, taking a tipped pass at mid court and making a behind-the-back pass to Anderson for a slam dunk that gave UCLA a 46-36 lead.

"Zeek is our captain," Howland said. "He's really stepped up and he played great tonight."

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LOS ANGELES -- Some wins mean more than others.

UCLA coach Ben Howland will tell you that every win is equally important, but his body language and enthusiasm said something different after the Bruins defeated Colorado in convincing fashion, 77-60, Saturday in a Pac-12 game at the Sports Arena.

This victory meant more simply because it came against a team that was tied for first in the Pac-12 and it helped erase doubts that UCLA could, in fact, pull out a victory against an upper-tier conference team. UCLA's last three wins had come against conference cellar-dwellers Utah, USC and Arizona State, but the Bruins (12-9, 5-4) stayed afloat in the conference race with the victory over Colorado (14-7, 6-3).

"I was very enthused," Howland said. "I knew this was a big game for us to get us back above .500 in the conference against a good Colorado team that has been playing extremely well. That was a very solid win for us against a very good team."

Five observations from the game:

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LOS ANGELES -- UCLA bounced back from its disappointing weekend in Oregon with one of its most dominant performances of the season in a 76-49 Pac-12 victory over Utah on Thursday night at the Sports Arena.

The Bruins (11-9, 4-4 Pac-12) raced to 36-21 halftime lead and unlike Saturday at Oregon, where they blew a 13-point halftime lead, the Bruins finished the job and evened their record in conference play.

"What I said to my team at halftime, I told them two words," senior guard Jerime Anderson said. "One was something I can’t say right now and the other was Oregon. I just said, ‘Man, we cannot let this happen again.’ If we have a lead like that we should be able to control the lead and come out with the win."

UCLA began the second half with a 6-2 run, expanded the lead to 20 points four minutes into the half and led by as many as 35 before coach Ben Howland cleared the bench and got all the walk-ons in the game.

"I talked about the first five minutes of the second half being huge and our intensity level," Howland said. "We have a 15-point lead and have to build on that right away and set the tone in the second half."

Five observations from the game:

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ANAHEIM--UCLA finally has a victory it can brag about.

The Bruins defeated Arizona, 65-58, in the Wooden Classic Thursday night at the Honda Center, posting their first Pac-12 win and also their first win against a major conference opponent.

Despite playing without center Joshua Smith, who sat out with a concussion, the Bruins (8-7, 1-2) controlled the paint against the smaller Wildcats (10-5, 1-1) and got an all-important victory after getting swept by Stanford and Cal in their Pac-12 openers last week.

"It’s a big win," guard Lazeric Jones said. "It’s our first Pac-12 win. I said before that you have to win games to learn how to win and hopefully we can learn from this and continue to get wins."

Five observations from the game:

1The Wear twins turned into the wonder twins

Travis and David Wear, who have played inconsistently and passively most of this season, were completely different players Thursday when they combined for 34 points, 10 rebounds. They were 13 of 16 from the floor and eight of eight from the free throw line while also playing passable defense against Arizona's post players Jesse Perry and Solomon Hill.

"I was especially pleased with both the Wears," coach Ben Howland said. "I thought they made a step forward this week in practice and it carried over to the game which you like to see as a coach. Being more aggressive. Getting to the line more."

Travis Wear had a career-high 20 points with five rebounds and three blocked shots. He also made six of six free throws. David Wear made six of seven shots, mostly from close range, and finished with 14 points.

"A big emphasis was making sure everything was going toward the basket," David Wear said. "No fadeaways, no shying away from contact. We really emphasized trying to get to the basket. We got in foul trouble and couldn’t be as aggressive as we would have liked to be but we set the tone early that we were going to play hard and hold it down down low."

2Lazeric Jones played more shooting guard than point guard

Jones has been the team's point guard all season, but played off guard for most of his 36 minutes Thursday in an effort to take more advantage of his scoring punch. He's the team's leading scorer at 13.6 points per game and had 13 points again Thursday.

Jerime Anderson ran the point most of the night and though he had only three assists, he did a nice job of orchestrating in the half court.

"I’ve never played off the ball in my life," Jones said. "I’m just trying to get used to it. If it’s going to help us get wins, I’ll do whatever coach tells me to. It helped us get a win tonight so I guess we’ll probably stick with it a little bit."

3Joshua Smith's concussion may have been a blessing in disguise

You never want to lose a 6-10 center, but when Smith banged his head against Travis Wear's leg in practice Wednesday, it forced him out of the lineup against Arizona and gave the Bruins a better matchup with the Wildcats.

Smith is dominant down low, but can be a defensive liability against smaller, quicker teams because he gets beat off the dribble and picks up a lot of fouls because of his lack of mobility. Against Arizona, which starts 6-6 Solomon Hill and 6-7 Jesse Perry at the post positions, Smith might have had trouble.

"It probably helped us defensively against Arizona because Josh would have a hard matchup whether he’s guarding Perry or Hill," Howland said. "Both Hill and Perry can step out and shoot and that would have been a hard matchup."

4Team defense was greatly improved

The Bruins got back to their defensive ways Thursday night, holding Arizona to 36.2 percent from the field--a far cry from the 65.4 percent they gave up in their last game at California.

The surprising part was that the Bruins did so using mostly a man-to-man defense, which has been a weakness for the team for the most part this season.

"That was the reason we won," Howland said. "We played good team defense and man was better for us today looking at the overall possessions. We were a little quicker and we had good practices leading up to today and now we have to build on this."

Howland made a concerted effort to stop Arizona's transition game by sending only to rebounders to the offensive glass and having three players fall back on defense after UCLA shots. That helped slow the quicker Wildcats and gave the Bruins a chance to set up their defense.

"I think we had a sense of urgency tonight to help a teammate if they were beat," Travis Wear said. "Just recover to anyone who got beat or who helped. We closed every gap and contested every shot, didn’t allow open shots. Our team defense was excellent."

5The bench played a vital role

The statistics won't blow anybody away as Anthony Stover, Brendan Lane and Norman Powell combined for only five points and 11 rebounds in 54 minutes, but those were valuable minutes as the Bruins were playing with an eight-man rotation.

With Smith out Lane played a season-high 24 minutes and had a very good first half with five rebounds. Stover played 12 minutes, the third most he's played all season, and had some crucial defensive stops late in the game against Hill, who led Arizona with 16 points and 11 rebounds.

Stover also got to the free throw line six times, making three. They were the first free throws he made this season after going 0-5 through the first 14 games. His three points were a season high and the UCLA bench erupted in cheer when he made the first.

"He's been talking about making his first free throw for a while," Jones said. "And he made some big free throws, too. It was a tight game and it showed a lot about his character."

UCLA will unveil the college basketball version of "Super Size Me" when the Bruins hit the court in public for the first time on Sunday at Citizen's Business Bank Arena in Ontario.

There, where the Bruins will face Cal State San Bernardino in an exhibition game, UCLA will run out a team that features six players at 6-8 or taller, including starters Joshua Smith (6-10), Reeves Nelson (6-8) and David Wear (6-10).

"'We're going to play big this year," coach Ben Howland said. "As a coach you want to scheme to play your best players as many minutes as possible so we're going to play big."

Reserves Travis Wear (6-10), Anthony Stover (6-10) and Brendan Lane (6-9) round out the shortness-challenged Bruins squad, giving UCLA an Herculean-like presence that already has opponents intimidated.

"You walk through an airport and see them and they scare you," California coach Mike Montgomery said. "They are huge."

The Bruins will need their big men to play big. Howland will rely on the inside guys for most of the scoring this season and the team will go as far as the inside guys will take it.

Here is a breakdown of the giant-sized front court:

CENTER

Projected starter: Joshua Smith, So., 6-10

Key reserves: Travis Wear, So., 6-10; Anthony Stover, So., 6-10; Brendan Lane, Jr., 6-9

The skinny: Smith averaged 10.9 points and 6.3 rebounds in only 21 minutes a game, but will be counted on for about 10 more minutes a game this season. If he can stay on the court that long, he will become the top big man in the country because he is virtually unstoppable on the block because of his combination of size, strength and soft hands. He's also a good passer. He tends to make lazy mistakes when tired so conditioning will be of utmost importance for Smith, who is listed at 305 pounds.

Wear, a North Carolina transfer, brings a completely different skill set to the interior. At nearly 100 pounds lighter than Smith, he's not going to over power people the way Smith can, but he has good shooting range and can draw out defenders. He's also a hard worker, which makes him a tenacious rebounder.

Stover, who is going to miss a couple of weeks because of a shoulder injury, is the defensive specialist on the inside. He is a tenacious, high-energy player with excellent shot blocking instincts. He's not much of an offensive threat, but his defensive intimidation presence is a valuable weapon.

Lane won't play a ton of minutes, but has the ability to make significant contributions when he does play. He had a nice three-game stretch late last season when he scored 11, eight and seven points off the bench.

POWER FORWARD

Projected starter: Reeves Nelson, Jr., 6-8

Key reserves: Travis Wear, Brendan Lane

The skinny: Nelson returns after leading the Bruins in scoring (13.9 points) and rebounding (9.1) and earning a spot on the all Pac-10 first team. He's a tough-minded forward who plays with a chip on his shoulder and simply never backs down. His defensive skills gradually improved over the course of the season and he turned into an excellent one-on-one defender by the end of the season. He's an emotional player who tends to mentally check out when things aren't going his way, but can take over games for minutes at a time when he is on.

Wear's more natural position is the power forward, but with an established star occupying the spot, he'll only get backup minutes there. Still, he will be the first man off the bench whenever Nelson or Smith needs a breather or gets into foul trouble and should get plenty of minutes in that role.

Lane's skill set also leans more toward power forward but will probably have a decrease in minutes because of the addition of Travis Wear. He's not quite strong enough to hold his own defensively and on the boards, but will bring a nice shooting touch when he is called upon.

SMALL FORWARD

Projected Starter: David Wear, So., 6-10

Key reserves: De'End Parker, Jr., 6-6; Tyler Lamb, So., 6-5

The skinny: Small forward is a bit of a misnomer with David Wear manning the position. Wear, who transfered from North Carolina with his twin brother Travis, is actually a more natural power forward, but the loss of all Pac-10 selection Tyler Honeycutt to the NBA draft left a void at the position and Wear will get first crack at filling it. He has the offensive skills to be able to handle the job, including shooting range all the way to the three-point line (he was 8-16 on three pointers at North Carolina). The question mark is his ability to defend the smaller, quicker players he'll match up against, but that will turn into an advantage with post-up opportunities on the other end of the floor.

Parker is a transfer from City College of San Francisco, where he averaged 12 points, six rebounds and five assists in leading the Rams to the State JC title. He's an athletic wing with good court vision and passing skills and knows how to finish at the basket. His all-around skill set makes him a good fit for the small forward.

Lamb will probably start at shooting guard, but may get some time at small forward when the Bruins switch to smaller lineups or if Wear and Parker find foul trouble or injuries. He's one of the top defenders on the team so that will be a bonus at any position he plays. A good passer, he led the team in assists four times, but his outside shot is a work in progress.

Backup center Anthony Stover suffered a dislocated left shoulder in practice Wednesday and will be re-examined Thursday, coach Ben Howland said. Stover, a redshirt sophomore who had sat out the previous week because of a concussion, is expected to miss a couple of weeks.

"It's really lousy luck for him to just be coming back and then, boom, getting hurt again," Howland said.

Junior guard De'End Parker is still out because of a concussion he suffered last week but is improving. Team trainers will continue to monitor his progress, Howland said. Parker, a transfer from City College of San Francisco, could return sometime in the next week.

"He had a pretty severe concussion that affected him in terms of sensitivity to light and sound; he missed a midterm," Howland said. "Today was the first day he's felt better since Saturday. He was at practice for the first time. He sat there and watched."

Junior forward Brendan Lane underwent an endoscopy Wednesday for stomach issues and did not practice. His results came back normal, Howland said. Lane will play in Thursday's closed scrimmage at the Los Angeles Sports Arena against Cal State Fullerton.

"We're still pretty green right now, but the main part is staying healthy," Howland said.

The UCLA men's basketball team will officially begin practice Thursday for a highly anticipated 2011-12 season, but it will have a decidedly different feel than seasons past.

With Pauley Pavilion undergoing major renovations and the team being displaced for its home games this season, the Bruins also will need to find a new practice home.

So they're going to reach a little into their past.

Workouts and game preparations will take place in "the Old Men's Gym" or the Student Activities Center on campus.

The team held its annual media day Wednesday in the Men's Gym -- a place where coach John Wooden once practiced with his teams from 1948 to '65.

"That chalk board over there is the actually chalk board that Coach used to write on," UCLA coach Ben Howland told reporters. "It's the actual board itself, it's pretty cool. His 101st birthday is Friday, always right at the start of the college basketball season. Coach Wooden's teams practiced in here until Pauley was built."

This season's UCLA team is looking to do big things, despite the departures of underclassmen Tyler Honeycutt and Malcolm Lee, who left school early to pursue professional aspirations.

The Bruins' strength appears to be on the front line, giving the team some size and bulk, especially with the additions of twins David and Travis Wear, former Mater Dei High standouts who transferred from North Carolina and sat out last season.

The Wear twins, each 6-foot-10 sophomores, could open things up on the inside for 6-10, 305-pound center Joshua Smith, who averaged 10.9 points and 6.3 rebounds as a freshman last season. UCLA also returns athletic junior Reeves Nelson, who was the team's leading scorer last season at 13.9 points per game.

Adding depth inside are 6-10 sophomore defensive specialist Anthony Stover and 6-9 junior forward Brendan Lane.

"Our real strength is our front line," said Howland, who is beginning his ninth season in Westwood.

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Malcolm Lee, Tyler Honeycutt and Reeves Nelson shared the Coach John Wooden Award as UCLA's most valuable basketball player, coach Ben Howland announced at the team banquet Tuesday night.

Nelson, a sophomore forward who is the only one of the three returning next season, led the team in scoring with 13.9 points per game and in rebounding with 9.1 per game. He also took home the team’s Gerald A. Finerman Award for team rebounding leader.

Lee, a junior guard who announced Tuesday that he is leaving UCLA and entering the NBA draft, was second on the team in scoring at 13.1 points per game and also won the team’s Irv Pohlmeyer Memorial Award for outstanding defensive player for the second consecutive season.

Honeycutt, a sophomore forward who also will enter the NBA draft, was third on the team in scoring at 12.8 points per game second in rebounding at 7.2 per game. He also led the team and the Pac-10 in blocked shots with 68 total and second on the team in assists with 2.8 per game.

All three earned first-team All Pac-10 honors and Lee was named to the Pac-10 all-defensive team.

Junior guard Lazeric Jones took home three team awards: The Bob "Ace" Calkins Memorial Award for free throw shooting (81.0 percent); The UCLA Alumni Association Award for assists (3.6 per game); and the Bruin Hoopsters J.D. Morgan Memorial Award for outstanding team play.

Junior guard Jerime Anderson was a two-time award winner, garnering the Elvin C. "Ducky" Drake Memorial Award for competitive spirit, inspiration and unselfish contributions and the Bruin Bench Basketball Award for most improvement in all-around play and mental attitude.

Center Joshua Smith won the Seymour Armond Memorial Award as Most Valuable Freshman. He was fourth on the team in scoring with 10.9 points per game and third in rebounding at 6.3 per game.

Junior guard Tyler Trapani and sophomore forward Brendan Lane were named co-winners of the UCLA Faculty Athletic Representative Award for academic achievement and team contribution.

The 2010-11 basketball season is over, so it's time to take a peek ahead at next season.

The Bruins have no seniors graduating and will have loads of experience at every position, especially if none of the players leaves school for the NBA. They will also get some much-needed depth with the addition of North Carolina transfers David and Travis Wear and incoming freshman Norman Powell set to join the team.

UCLA showed an upward trend of improvement throughout this season and if the Bruins continue that rise during the offseason, it would come as no surprise to find them among the top 10 teams in the nation when next season starts.

Here, we take a look at the roster for next season:

PROJECTED STARTERS:

F-Reeves Nelson, Jr., 6-8, 235

The emotional barometer for the Bruins, Nelson also led the team in scoring with 13.9 points a game and in rebounding with 9.1 per game. He's a workhorse who is not afraid to do the dirty work, gives UCLA a toughness edge and can finish around the basket. He made great strides on the defensive end throughout this season and also matured quite a bit from start to finish. He still needs to improve his help side defense and he could use another six or eight feet of range on his jump shot, but he has the kind of bulldog personality to make those things happen. If they do, he will become one of the top all-around inside players in the country.

F-Tyler Honeycutt, Jr., 6-8, 188

He's the most likely of all the Bruins to leave for the NBA, he led the team in minutes played and was third in scoring with 12.8 points a game and second in rebounding at 7.2 per game. He can score form anywhere on the floor and led the team with 55 three-point baskets. He struggled at times with on-ball defense, but made up for a lot of those lapses with recovery shot blocking. He led the Pac-10 with 68 blocked shots. His laid-back personality hurt him when he made carefree passes that led to a team-worst 100 turnovers, and he had a tendency to disappear at times during games, but if he leaves, UCLA will have a hole at small forward. If he returns, UCLA may be a top-five team.

C-Joshua Smith, So., 6-10, 305

A wide-bodied inside player who is almost impossible to stop at the post, Smith steadily improved this season and averaged 10.9 points and 6.3 rebounds. He dominated inside at times as there is nobody in the country who can match up with him down low. He also has soft hands and the ability to make passes out of the paint, which makes him a difficult player to stop with double teams. Youth and inexperience held him back early in the season, when foul problems cost him quite a bit of playing time, and he averaged only 21.7 minutes this season. His lack of conditioning contributed to those low minutes and haunted him throughout the season as he often missed point-blank shots simply because he didn't have the energy to dunk. He worked hard to get in shape last offseason, losing 40-50 pounds, and if he makes similar strides this summer he has the potential to be the best big man in the country next season.

G-Malcolm Lee, Sr., 6-5, 200

The team's unquestioned MVP, Lee can do it all. He was second on the team in scoring with 13.1 points a game and one of the top defensive players in the Pac-10, if not the country. He is a tireless worker whose energy level never waned. He is quick and athletic and is the best player on the team at creating shots for himself. His defensive instincts are second to none and he routinely matched up with opponent's top scorers and routinely shut them down. He could use a little more consistency on his outside shot (29 percent on three-pointers) and, as a team captain, you'd like him to take more of a vocal leadership role, instead of merely leading by example. He underwent surgery to repair torn cartilage in his left knee, but is expected to make a full recovery, and should pick up where he left off.

G-Lazeric Jones, Sr., 6-0, 187

A junior college transfer from Chicago, Jones brought an immediate toughness and on-court leadership presence to the Bruins, who lacked that the previous season. He's not a flashy point guard with elite speed and quickness, but he looked as if he was developing in to a nice offensive compliment to UCLA's strong front-court until the injury bug bit. He averaged 11.1 points on 42 percent shooting, including 38.9 percent on three-pointers, before crashing to the floor with a severely sprained wrist on Feb. 2. After that he averaged 5.6 points on 27 percent shooting and 26.8 percent on three-pointers. If the wrist was indeed the problem, he should be a valuable weapon because of his ability to get to the basket, get to the free throw line and hit outside shots.

KEY RESERVES:

G-Jerime Anderson, Sr., 6-2, 183

The team's most improved player, Anderson averaged 5.1 points and became an increasingly valuable player off the bench as the season went on. He lead the team with a 38.7 three-point shooting percentage and provided steady floor leadership with a team-best 1.78 assist-to-turnover ratio. He averaged 20.1 minutes, easily the most of any bench player, and started three games when UCLA a three-guard lineup for matchup reasons. He figures to play a similar role next season unless he can wrest the starting job from Jones.

C-Anthony Stover, So., 6-10, 235

Stover's numbers won't stand out: He averaged less than a point a game and 1.5 rebounds in eight minutes a game. Still he was an invaluable role player for the Bruins because of his tenacious defense inside. Easily UCLA's top post defender, he managed 28 blocked shots in his limited time--a number that would equal more than three blocks a game and put him in the top 10 nationally with 30 minutes a game. As he develops more of an offensive game, he will earn more playing time and become even more valuable.

F-Brendan Lane, Jr. 6-9, 223

A versatile reserve, Lane played power forward, small forward and center at times this season and averaged three points and 3.1 rebounds in 15.4 minutes. He started the season strong, averaging five points and 5.1 rebounds through the first 12 games, but tailed off once Pac-10 play started and his confidence began to wane. He had a solid NCAA tournament game against Michigan State with eight points and four rebounds which should help start the confidence rebuilding process. He needs to add some bulk in the offseason in order to better contend with bigger players and if he does, he should earn more minutes.

G-Tyler Lamb, So., 6-5, 200

A versatile swing man who plays shooting guard and small forward, Lamb will be relied upon a lot more should Honeycutt decide to leave school. He's an outstanding on-ball defender and often took on the opponents' top player when Lee needed a rest. His offensive game got off to a slow start when he made only four of 19 shots in the first two games, including one of 10 three-pointers, and he never regained confidence in his stroke. Look for him to be a much more dynamic scorer after a summer of working on his shooting touch.

KEY NEWCOMERS:

F-David Wear, So., 6-10, 225

A transfer from North Carolina, Wear will be eligible to play next season after sitting out this season because of NCAA transfer rules. He's a former high school All-American who can play power forward or small forward. During his season at North Carolina and averaged 2.9 points and 1.7 rebounds in limited action. He has good shooting range, as he made eight of 16 three-point attempts and is a good defender. He'll help fill the void if Honeycutt leaves.

F-Travis Wear, So., 6-10, 220

Like his twin brother David, Travis say out after transferring from North Carolina, but has a year of practice in Ben Howland's program under his belt. He averaged 3.5 points and 2.2 rebounds in 10 minutes a game for the Tar Heels and earned defensive player of the game three times during his season at North Carolina. He'll compete for minutes at power forward.

G-Norman Powell, Fr., 6-2, 175

A shooting guard who coach Ben Howland called "as athletic as anyone on our team." Powell comes out of Lincoln High in San Diego where he averaged 20.4 points last season and led his team to the state Division II title in 2010. He's got good quickness to create shots and is considered an excellent defender. If he improves his outside shot (30 percent on three-pointers the last two years) he should be able to make an immediate impact next season.

TAMPA, Fla. -- UCLA's role players had a pretty big role in the Bruins' 78-76 squeaker of a victory over Michigan State on Thursday night in an NCAA tournament game at the St. Pete Times Forum, and perhaps none bigger than Brendan Lane.

Jerime Anderson, Tyler Lamb and Anthony Stover also contributed valuable minutes off the bench for UCLA, but Lane, who has been fairly quiet for the last two months, stood out by scoring a season-high eight points with four rebounds in 19 minutes -- the most he has played since Jan. 9.

"I knew I was going to play a few more minutes tonight because we wanted to keep Reeves [Nelson] fresh," Lane said. "So when I went in there I just tried to play as hard as I can and stay in there as long as I can."

Nelson has played 32 minutes or more in seven of the last eight games, so coach Ben Howland, who has said all season that he needs to cut a few minutes from Nelson, Malcolm Lee and Tyler Honeycutt, made a concentrated effort to do so Thursday.

"That was on purpose, and that's something we'll look to do again on Saturday," Howland said.

Lamb and Stover played only seven minutes each and Anderson played 19 minutes -- below his season average -- but Howland strategically used each reserve at crucial times just before media timeouts so the regulars could get some extra rest.

Each player was solid during is minutes. Stover had two blocked shots and played tremendous post defense. Lamb helped keep Michigan State leading scorer Kalin Lucas in check and also took a charge when he was in and Anderson was the steady playmaker and court leader he has been all season for the Bruins.

"I thought our bench gave us tremendous minutes," Howland said.

LOS ANGELES -- UCLA continued its habit of letting up against lesser opponents, but the Bruins also continued to win when they defeated Oregon State, 69-61, Saturday in a Pac-10 game at Pauley Pavilion.

It was the fifth consecutive victory for UCLA (18-7, 9-3) and the ninth in 10 games for the Bruins, who had an 18-point first-half lead cut to five by halftime and then took a 22-point lead with 6:56 to play and had a 16-point lead with less than a minute to go, only to watch Oregon State (9-15, 4-9) shrink it back down to single digits.

It was the 13th consecutive UCLA victory over Oregon State, the longest current win streak of one Pac-10 team over another, and by reaching nine conference victories, the Bruins surpassed last season's total. The Bruins have six conference games remaining and are knocking on the door of a top-25 ranking after receiving votes in the polls last week.

"We don’t try and pay attention to the rankings," guard Malcolm Lee said. "We just try to go out there and play hard because it’s not about who is supposed to win, it’s about who does at the end of the day."

Five observations from the game:

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