UCLA basketball is looking to make an NCAA Tournament run a bit deeper than the Sweet 16. With Adem Bona in the lineup, UCLA basketball has the recipe for success.

Bona was added to the preseason watch list for the Naismith Trophy Award, via Ben Bolch of The LA Times. He joins 49 other players on the list all battling it out to take home the hardware. The award is given to the very best player in all of college basketball.

After watching Bona play last season, UCLA knows they have foundational piece to build around. Over 33 games, Bona averaged 7.7 points, 5.3 rebounds and 1.7 blocks. He was named to the PAC-12 All-Defense and All-Freshman teams. Bona was also named the PAC-12 Freshman of the Year. The big man certainly impressed in his debut with the Bruins.

Due to that early success, Bona decided to test the NBA Draft waters. However, a torn labrum stopped him for being able to fully show teams what he could offer. Instead, Bona decided to buck the draft and return to UCLA for at least one more season.

While Adem Bona is back in the fold, UCLA was unranked in the AP Top 25 preseason poll. They'll look to prove the voters wrong and climb as high as they can in the rankings. When the regular season comes to a close, the Bruins want that ascent to equal an NCAA Tournament berth. Every step along the way Bona will have an opportunity to prove himself. A strong season could have both him and UCLA leaving with plenty of hardware.