Men's Basketball Heads to Melbourne Cricket Ground
August 25, 2016 | Men's Basketball
Now five days into their trip to Australia, the Bruins have quickly learned which team sports are among the most popular in the land down under.
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On Thursday, the UCLA men's basketball travel party received an up-close look. After an early morning wake-up call and departure from Sydney, the Bruins' travel party arrived in Melbourne by mid-afternoon and ventured to a barbeque restaurant for lunch.
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As they sat in community-style bench seats with multiple television screens around, an intriguing athletic contrast was presented.
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"We were sitting in that restaurant," head coach Steve Alford said, "and on one TV you've got a cricket game and on the TV directly next to it, there's ESPN showing the Dodger game. I think that was interesting for our guys."
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Some of the players and coaches spent their lunch trying to decipher some of cricket's rules and basic concepts. The group has noticed that Australian rules football, cricket and rugby are especially popular in the nation's sports landscape. For sports fans accustomed to seeing basketball, football and baseball dominate the airwaves back home, the shift in popular team sports has been intriguing.
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After having had the chance, by coincidence, to study a cricket game on television during lunch, the Bruins boarded their bus that afternoon for a group tour of the Melbourne Cricket Ground, known as "The G" to locals.
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The Melbourne Cricket Ground is the largest stadium in Australia and ranks as the biggest cricket ground by capacity (can seat up to 100,000 fans). The venue served as the primary home for the 1956 Olympic Games. As of late, the stadium hosts Australian rules football and cricket. The venue has also hosted rugby matches and FIFA World Cup qualifiers and friendly matches (soccer).
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For senior Bryce Alford, some of the greatest differences between American football and Australian rules football are obvious โ less equipment and pads, a slightly different ball and substantially different scoring rules.
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"We're not all that familiar with these sports, but that's what we have been watching," Bryce Alford said. "It's interesting to watch, even though you don't many of the rules. It's something we've been trying to quickly learn and figure out. I can definitely see how these games are so popular here."
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The mid-day trip to the Melbourne Cricket Ground helped to provide the Bruins with a little context and history of these games they've rarely seen in California.
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"It's beautiful, and probably larger than any NFL stadium we'd see back in the States," Bryce Alford said. "We were able to see some of their facility upgrades, their locker rooms, training areas and even get on the field. Seeing the stadium really helps to show how popular the sport is."
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The televised cricket match at lunch and regularly televised Australian rules football games have also caught Isaac Hamilton's attention.
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"It's all new to me, so it might seem a little weird," said Hamilton, a senior from Los Angeles. "But I think that it's exciting. Coming over here, you're able to experience that culture and see something that you can bring back home and that you can tell your family about."
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Thursday did provide another break from the team's most favorite sport โ basketball.
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After securing a 123-76 exhibition win over Sydney University on Tuesday night, the Bruins did not practice on Wednesday or Thursday. The team has practice scheduled for Friday and will return to action Saturday night against Melbourne United.
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The time away from the court since UCLA's exhibition victory has allowed for the coaches to study game film and the players to reflect on their first contest.
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As for initial impressions?
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"For our guys to play that hard and relatively error-free, with 33 assists and eight turnovers, that was very good to see," Coach Alford said. "We liked our team's activity the most. It's still very early into this part of our preseason, and we have a lot of time to work on things. But their demeanor and how the guys played together were the most rewarding things that we saw."
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With games on the horizon against Melbourne United and the Brisbane Bullets, UCLA expects the competition to get more challenging. Both professional teams compete in Australia's National Basketball League, or NBL. The season typically runs from early October through the middle of February. In all, the NBL is comprised of eight teams.
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"With both these teams, you're going to see more pros," Coach Alford said. "You'll get an older, wiser and smarter player. These games are going to be highly competitive for us. I'm just anxious to see how we can take one game, after watching some film and having one practice, and being able to move forward from there."
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UCLA's players are thrilled to have these games โ and preseason practices โ as a chance to continue developing the team's camaraderie and chemistry. And with one game already under their belt, they're confident about their opportunities in the days to come.
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"It's been awesome because we aren't used to playing competitive basketball at this time of the year," said Bryce Alford, who finished with 17 points in the team's 47-point win last Tuesday. "You usually play against your own team for months in advance of the season. It's nice to see what we have and what we're working with for this season."
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For senior guards Hamilton and Alford, their familiarity with a core of veteran players has been advantageous. But both players are just as excited about the addition Ike Anigbogu, Lonzo Ball and TJ Leaf โ a freshman trio that combined for 46 points last Tuesday.
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"I felt really comfortable out there," said Hamilton, who notched 18 points in the exhibition win. "With the returning guys, you just know their spots on the court. And they know mine. We're able to feed off that. To see those freshmen come in and get their feet wet, we can't wait to see this team continue coming together and building that camaraderie."
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UCLA's game against Melbourne United on Saturday will tip-off at 7 p.m in Australia (2 a.m. Pacific time). There will not be an online stream of the Bruins' game at the State Basketball Centre in Melbourne.
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For the latest updates about the Bruins' trip in Australia, be sure to follow the team's official social media channels in addition to uclabruins.com. Follow "UCLAMBB" on Twitter (@UCLAMBB), Instagram (UCLAMBB), Facebook (facebook.com/uclamensbasketball) and Snapchat (uclambb).
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