SAN FRANCISCO – Sophomore guards Kris Wilkes and Jaylen Hands served as UCLA's two student-athlete representatives at Pac-12 Men's Basketball Media Day on Thursday, hosted at the Pac-12's office and network studios.
The sophomore duo was accompanied by Steve Alford, who enters his sixth season as The Michael Price Family UCLA Men's Head Basketball Coach. Wilkes, Hands and Coach Alford participated in numerous interviews with members of print, broadcast and online media, in additional to taping various promotional videos to be used by national broadcast networks.
"I think that Kris has a chance to be one of the top scorers in this league," Coach Alford said. "When you look across the country, looking at next year's draft, both those guys [Kris and Jaylen] are potential first-round picks. I think that Kris was on the cusp this year. Going into this draft, he could be a lottery pick. Both those guys are key parts to what we're doing. Their leadership is going to be huge for us, because we are tall, we're long, and I think that we're as athletic as we've been."
What's the biggest thing that you're lookin' to take your game to the next level?
— UCLA Basketball (@UCLAMBB) October 11, 2018
More ... from Kris & Jaylen. #GoBruins | #Pac12Hoops pic.twitter.com/HlaihYkjjf
Wilkes, a sophomore from Indianapolis, Ind., averaged 13.7 points and 4.9 rebounds in all 33 games for UCLA last season. He finished the year as the team's second-leading scorer and second-leading rebounder.
Hands, a sophomore from San Diego, Calif., registered 9.9 points and 4.0 rebounds in 31 games as a freshman last year. He shot just over 37 percent from three-point territory and averaged 2.6 assists per game.
Earlier in the day Thursday, the Bruins were selected to finish second in the league's annual preseason poll. Oregon was chosen as the favorite to win the league's regular season title (complete poll is available here).
Who knew @kadw31 and @JHANDS08 had pipes? ????@UCLAMBB | #Pac12Hoops pic.twitter.com/3yQqLGozbJ
— Pac-12 Network (@Pac12Network) October 11, 2018
UCLA will tip-off its regular-season schedule at home on Tuesday, Nov. 6, hosting Purdue Fort Wayne in Pauley Pavilion presented by Wescom. Game time is scheduled for 6 p.m. (PT). The Bruins will host one exhibition game against the New York Institute of Technology on Saturday, Oct. 27 (7:30 p.m.).
In all, the Bruins will play 18 regular-season games in Pauley Pavilion this season, including nine Pac-12 games that begin during the first week of January.
Season tickets for 2018-19 (click here) are available, starting at less than $18 per game.
A limited number of mobile-only Fast Break Passes, which allows access to all 19 home games (18 regular-season games, plus one exhibition contest), can be purchased for $149. Tickets to non-conference games are also on sale, including the showdown against Notre Dame on Dec. 8. Call (310) 206-5991, email tickets@athletics.ucla.edu, or click on the links above to secure your seats today.
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