University of California, Los Angeles, Athletics
UCLA Men's Basketball Heads to Pac-12 Media Day on Wednesday
October 10, 2023 | Men's Basketball
LOS ANGELES – UCLA head coach Mick Cronin, junior Lazar Stefanovic and sophomore Adem Bona will represent the UCLA men's basketball program at Pac-12 Men's Basketball Media Day in Las Vegas on Wednesday, Oct. 11.
Cronin, The Michael Price Family UCLA Men's Head Basketball Coach, enters his fifth season as the Bruins' head coach in 2022-23. He will be accompanied by Stefanovic and Bona, who will help guide UCLA's team with eight incoming players.
Bona was one of 10 student-athletes picked as a preseason first-team All-Pac-12 selection, as announced on Tuesday. The 6-foot-10 forward/center from Ebonyi, Nigeria, averaged 7.7 points and 5.3 rebounds in 33 games (32 starts) for UCLA last season. He became UCLA's first freshman since Kevin Love in 2008 to be honored as the Pac-12 Freshman of the Year.
Stefanovic spent the past two seasons at the University of Utah after having grown up in Belgrade, Serbia. The 6-foot-7 Stefanovic transferred to UCLA after the 2022-23 season. He played in 63 games over the last two seasons, averaging 8.9 points, 2.9 rebounds and 2.0 assists while at Utah. Last season, Stefanovic averaged 10.3 points, 3.0 rebounds and 2.7 assists in 32 games for the Runnin' Utes.
The Pac-12 unveiled its preseason all-league teams on Tuesday (10 players on the first team and five players on the second team), with Bona and Bruins' freshman Aday Mara securing preseason recognition. Bona was honored as a preseason first-team selection, while Mara was one of four student-athletes to be named as a preseason honorable mention.
Coverage of this Wednesday's Pac-12 Men's Basketball Media Day will be available across Pac-12 Networks and Pac-12.com starting at 9 a.m. (PT). Pac-12 Network broadcasters Guy Haberman and Don MacLean will be leading the network's media day duties on Wednesday. Team availabilities will be carried live between 9-11:30 a.m. and from 12-3:00 p.m. (PT).
UCLA's session on the main stage with the Pac-12 Networks' hosts will begin at 12:55 p.m. and run for approximately 20 minutes.
The Bruins' 31-game regular-season schedule will begin on Monday, Nov. 6, as UCLA hosts Saint Francis University in Pauley Pavilion presented by Wescom. Game time that night is set for 8:30 p.m.
Fans can get an early look at the Bruins in their home exhibition contest on Tuesday, Oct. 31, as UCLA hosts Cal State Dominguez Hills. The game time and broadcast details for the exhibition game have not been determined.
UCLA went 31-6 overall last season, winning the Pac-12 Conference's regular-season title with an 18-2 league record. That marked UCLA's first Pac-12 regular-season championship since winning the league title in 2013. UCLA advanced to the Pac-12 Tournament title game and lost to Arizona, 61-59. The Bruins entered the NCAA Tournament as the No. 2-seeded team in the West Region, advancing to the Sweet 16 in Las Vegas.
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PAC-12 PRESEASON ALL-CONFERENCE TEAMS
UCLA's Adem Bona was among 10 student-athletes named a preseason first-team All-Pac-12 selection. Bona was joined on the first team list by Oumar Ballo (Arizona), Keion Brooks Jr. (Washington), Branden Carlson (Utah), Isaiah Collier (USC), N'Faly Dante (Oregon), Tristan da Silva (Colorado), Boogie Ellis (USC), Spencer Jones (Stanford) and KJ Simpson (Colorado). The five selections on the preseason second team included Fardaws Aimaq (California), Kylan Boswell (Arizona), Kobe Johnson (USC), Caleb Love (Arizona) and Jordan Pope (Oregon State).
Bruins' freshman Aday Mara was joined by Kwame Evans Jr. (Oregon), Pelle Larsson (Arizona) and Cody Williams (Colorado) as honorable mention selections.
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THE BRUINS ON SOCIAL MEDIA
Get an inside look at the Bruins' day in Las Vegas by following the UCLA men's basketball team accounts on X, formerly known as Twitter (@UCLAMBB), as well as Instagram (@UCLAMBB) and Facebook (facebook.com/UCLAMensBasketball). From Bona and Stefanovic's appearances on live television, to various photo booths and one-on-one video interviews, the men's basketball social media channels will have a behind-the-scenes look at Wednesday's event.
