This post was updated Oct. 25 at 7:12 p.m.
Jules Bernard and David Singleton had been roommates since before their freshman seasons, but the pair of junior guards never had more time together than they did over the past few months.
“We built a good bond,” Bernard said. “Especially during the quarantine, when we had to stay inside for most of the time, we definitely got a lot closer. That was definitely a positive to take away from all the stuff that was going on with the pandemic.”
Redshirt sophomore forward Kenneth Nwuba moved into the apartment last year as well, so the three UCLA men’s basketball players had to put their heads together for ways to pass the time when they weren’t catching up on workout assignments from assistant athletic performance coach Wes Long.
“(Nwuba) was pretty big on TikTok – he loves that app,” Bernard said. “We would just spend time at the apartment and just relax, play video games, watch TV, stuff like that.”
The three Bruins also had a season to prepare for, even if they weren’t sure when opening tip would arrive.
Bernard and Singleton would both drive home to their families’ neighborhoods to find empty outdoor courts and stay in playing shape. Playing almost exclusively outdoors on asphalt may not be the exact conditions Singleton will face in games this season, but he says powering through the elements will do him favors in the long run.
“If the weather’s not looking right, I would try to do something else,” Singleton said. “But I think the shooting outside made me better, to be honest. Outside, there’s weather and wind.”
After the outdoor training, Singleton said he thinks he could beat his sophomore teammates guard/forward Jake Kyman and guard Johnny Juzang in a 3-point contest. Kyman shot 42.2% from deep during Pac-12 play last year, while Juzang shot 40.7% during his conference slate at Kentucky.
Singleton, who was shooting 46.1% from long range for his career before Pac-12 play started last season, shot just 33.8% against conference opponents in 2020. The guard attributed that drop-off to a combination of fatigue and the broken foot he suffered in the 2019 Pac-12 Tournament.
“I’ve been training my legs because they definitely got weaker because of the injury,” Singleton said. “I’ve been working on my balance a lot, my stamina, my endurance, so hopefully it’ll show this season.”
Singleton said the foot injury is fully in his rearview mirror, and that his improved conditioning and balance could help him settle in as a backup point guard to redshirt sophomore Tyger Campbell this year.
Coach Mick Cronin told the media Tuesday that UCLA leaned too heavily on Campbell at the point last season, considering he averaged 30 minutes per game after tearing his ACL the year prior. Singleton said he is taking advice from his teammate on how to run the offense when they aren’t on the court together.
“I’ll ask (Campbell) for a couple pointers on the point guard role,” Singleton said. “But really, it’s about just going down there, reading the defense and leading your squad, making sure everyone’s in the right positions. It’s going pretty smoothly.”
While Singleton is trying to add a new role to his repertoire, Bernard is in essentially the same spot he was a season ago.
Bernard was one of three Bruin wings to average over six rebounds per 40 minutes last season, and he has topped five rebounds in 14 games so far in his collegiate career. Cronin is continuing to emphasize crashing the boards for everyone except the point guard, Bernard said, and the junior is happy to go all-out for rebounds like he did in high school.
“I was normally the biggest guy on the court, so I’m used to rebounding,” Bernard said. “It’s become part of my game, and I like having the coaches encourage us to crash to boards whenever the shot goes up.”
Luckily for Bernard, he won’t have to be diving on concrete for loose balls anymore – the Bruins are back in the gym, getting ready for a season that’s just one month away.
