What UCLA’s First Exhibition Told Us About the Rotation

Exhibition basketball in the month of October has its positives and negatives.

The positive side is that we get college basketball in October, but the negative side seems to be that fans tend to overreact to the results. While it’s easy to get caught up in Eric Dailey Jr.’s 25-point performance or the defensive masterclass Nikola Kusturica put on with his two blocks and five steals, it is still very early, and this team has a long way to go.

However, that doesn’t stop us from looking at the coaching decisions that Mick Cronin made in the exhibition. One of the things that was revealed most was the potential rotation UCLA will use this season, and which players we can expect to see on the court the most often, at least to begin the season.

Filip Jovic Indeed First Man Off the Bench

We speculated for some time and were correct in our assessment that Filip Jovic would be the first man off the bench for the Bruins.

He ended up with 18 minutes, nearly as much as Azavier Robinson for the most among non-starters. Jovic showcased that he can be a crucial part of this team moving forward, shooting 3-for-6 from the field, grabbing eight rebounds, and ending the night with 10 points. His versatility will allow him to be a tool all over the court and will provide crucial resting minutes for starting center Xavier Booker on the sideline.

Azavier Robinson Gets Significant Minutes

Like I previously mentioned, Butler transfer Azavier Robinson also got a large share of the minutes among the reserves. From the jump, Robinson was an impactful defensive presence.

You can tell why Cronin wanted Robinson in Westwood, as he can be a very impactful perimeter defender moving forward. Robinson ended the night with 19 minutes, shooting 4-for-9 from the field, with three rebounds, three assists, and 10 points.

You can expect him to gradually become an important member of this team, especially if he produces as he did against Cal Baptist.

Jaylen and Trent Perry Share PG Responsibilities

Starting point guard Trent Perry got into some early foul trouble, and from there, Jaylen Petty was able to fill in as point guard. Petty has previous point guard experience from his season at Texas Tech a year ago, as he played under now-Charlotte Hornet Christian Anderson all season.

When Trent Perry is off the floor, you can expect Petty to do the majority of the heavy lifting in leading this offense. The box score reflected that as well, as Petty had the most minutes on the team with 28.