The fog of mediocrity was inescapable.
It didn’t just approach and recede with season’s passing – it engulfed the Bruins from the moment it descended upon them. Even a midseason surge, and all the potential therein, was obscured in the end.
Such times call for a beacon of light. And in UCLA’s waning moments, a figure emerged, cutting through the fog.
Dylan Andrews stepped forth, carrying the lamp of hope.
UCLA men’s basketball was sentenced to the offseason by Thursday’s final buzzer in Las Vegas, watching its overtime-forcing shot bounce off the iron, hit the backboard and find none of the net. It was March Sadness redux – the Bruins’ fifth elimination from conference or national championship contention in three years.
The fog turned to one of uncertainty with the Bruins’ final walk to the T-Mobile Arena locker room. Questions about who would stay, who would leave and who would arrive were inevitable, but there was also a staggering reality overshadowing it all.
The 2023-2024 season – UCLA’s last ever in the Pac-12 – now stands as its second losing finish since the conference’s expansion to 12 teams in 2011. There have been five sub-.500 seasons since the turn of the century and just 19 in the Bruins’ 105-year history.
But none of them, upon their conclusion, held the reassurance of Andrews’ return. For next year’s squad, nothing could be more critical.
The Pac-12 tournament was an all-out showcase for the sophomore guard – a performance deserving of Vegas residency. He racked up 55 points in 76 minutes played, delivering 41.3% of his team’s offensive production across two contests.
With 31 points against Oregon State, Andrews placed his previous career high of 22 in the rearview mirror. With 24 against Oregon a day later, he left that December highlight firmly in the dust.
Whether his team was on a scoreless spell or a shotmaking spree, Andrews was always there, offering a steady hand through the storm. His seven 3-pointers kept the Beavers at arm’s length. His eight points in the final four minutes against the Ducks nearly erased the Bruins’ 10-point deficit.
Two days of postseason play were only the latest validation of his importance.
Andrews found his stride as starting point guard in the season’s latter stages, battling through the adversity that accompanies the role at a young age. Development of his abilities as a scorer and facilitator gave way to a quiet confidence each time he took the ball down court.
As he moved to the basket, there was a clear intent about him, no longer recklessly driving in hopes of drawing fouls. A reliable midrange jumper became his signature shot while he averaged 16.7 points across the Bruins’ final 10 games. And Andrews – already an underrated defender entering this season – turned his aggressive on-the-ball tendencies into a more well-rounded effort.
Opportunities to deliver in the clutch were sparse for a UCLA team that rarely found itself in crunch time. But when they did arise, coach Mick Cronin placed his trust in one individual time and again.
Andrews.
With less than a second on the clock Thursday and his team down two, the potential game-tying layup floated off Andrews’ fingertips. In last season’s Pac-12 tournament, he took a pass from former guard/forward Jaime Jaquez Jr. and launched what could’ve been a game-winning 3-pointer.
Each time, he created his shot and took it – neither fell.
What Andrews did sink were go-ahead shots against UC Riverside and Utah this season, the first of which staved off a massive upset, and the second of which would’ve clinched UCLA’s seventh win in a row had it not been for a defensive breakdown in the final seconds.
He was held to an astronomical standard through all the ups and downs. Three-time All-Pac-12 First Team honoree and four-year starting point guard Tyger Campbell was his predecessor, widely beloved in the hills of Westwood. Cronin himself admitted Wednesday that it was a yearlong endeavor just to try and replace Campbell.
Cronin added that the journey was bound for one destination – Andrews would become himself.
But Andrews alone was never supposed to carry the Bruins to the promised land.
Considering UCLA’s golden standard, 2023-2024 was an unquestionable disaster. Multiple talents failed to pan out, inconsistency ran rampant and youth greatly outweighed experience. The hole dug during early-season struggles was simply too daunting to climb out of.
Mediocrity is not tolerated in this neck of the college basketball woods, and Cronin – who will miss the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2010 – shares that philosophy.
The fog of uncertainty, particularly thick at this time of year, only looms. It will continue to linger as an offseason of change leads into another season of questions.
The Bruins will need someone to guide them – to slice through uncertainty with leadership and continuity.
Andrews will offer a light.
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