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UCLA’s Lonzo Ball finishes big alley-oop against Pacific (Video)

By Chris Stone

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Lonzo Ball let everyone know that he’s here to be great in UCLA’s opener

UCLA’s Lonzo Ball is one of the many highly-touted freshmen starting out in college basketball this season and he made quite the statement in the Bruins’ opening night blowout of the University of the Pacific.

After Aaron Holiday came away with a steal, Ball bolted down the side of the court before cutting inside and finishing a massive alley-oop on the head of the Tigers’ D.J. Ursery. Ball isn’t well-known for his finishing at the rim, but he clearly showed he’s got the ability to play above the hoop on this no doubt top-10 play.

Ball will be worth keeping an eye on this season as he figures to be a lottery pick in next June’s NBA Draft, but expect more highlights of him throwing the alley-oops rather than finishing them. The 6-foot-6 guard should be one of the best passers in college basketball this season. He’s got excellent court vision and is creative with the ball in his hands. With his size, Ball should dominate smaller college guards on offense because of his ability to see over them and find open teammates.

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There will be plenty of additional highlights out of Ball over the next several weeks as the Bruins take care of the cupcake portion of their non-conference schedule ahead of a December 3 showdown with the Kentucky Wildcats at Rupp Arena. After several years of mediocrity out on the west coast, head coach Steve Alford finally has a talented enough roster to make some noise in a Pac-12 Conference that is full of teams with question marks.

At the top of the league, Arizona is missing its best returning player, Allonzo Trier, due to eligibility issues and Oregon is without star forward Dillon Brooks because of a foot injury. If Ball can continue to light up the highlight real with snazzy dunks like this one, look for the Bruins to finally make their mark under Alford once the conference regular season rolls around.