Replacing players who had such a profound impact on the team's on-court success and culture of the program is an unenviable task. UCLA basketball may not immediately find another Jaime Jaquez, but head coach Mick Cronin hopes he just added a key player who can help keep the Bruins nationally relevant.
Utah transfer Lazar Stefanovic is staying in the Pac-12 Conference after committing to UCLA, per Stadium's Jeff Goodman. He brings with him some offensive firepower that the team lost with Jaquez and Jaylen Clark declaring for the NBA Draft, and Tyger Campbell and Amari Bailey also possibly on their way out. He averaged 10.2 points per game on 35.9 percent 3-point shooting last season.
It is the first of likely several moves this offseason for Cronin and company. He quickly built the Bruins into title contenders upon his arrival in 2019, with many believing they would have won this year's national championship had Clark not torn his Achilles before the NCAA Tournament. Now, A new era of UCLA basketball will dawn, but ideally with the signature Cronin defense and toughness still intact.
Stefanovic started just 15 games for the Utes in 2022-23 but could be primed for a breakout junior year with his new team. UCLA has not had a lot of NBA Draft lottery picks of late, but the program has made a habit of finding players who grade very well in basketball IQ and hustle metrics. Jaime Jaquez was the Pac-12 Player of the Year this past season, and earned that in part because of his ferocity on the boards.
Lazar Stefanovic is not going to be asked to fill the now-former Bruin's shoes. He just needs to embody that same grit.
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