The college basketball season is now in full swing and the UCLA basketball team is off to a 4-2 start. The Bruins have looked pretty good to start the year, and their two losses are against two of the nation's best teams, and they were both very close games. UCLA lost to Marquette and Gonzaga in the Maui Invitational, and the scores were 71-69 and 69-65. Had the Bruins won those games, they would be sitting at 6-0 and they would be ranked in the top-15 or top-10. It's clear that this team is close to getting over the hump, and a major bright spot has been freshman Sebastian Mack.

Sebastian Mack had a big week last week in Maui as he dropped 25 points against Marquette, 16 points against Chaminade and 16 points against Gonzaga. He was the leading scorer for UCLA basketball in all three of those games, and his high level of play earned him Pac-12 Freshman of the Week honors. Mack spoke to the media on Tuesday, and he discussed the jump from high school ball to college.

“It’s a big leap, coming from high school and AAU basketball because you’ve got to be in help in this game,” Mack said, according to a tweet from UCLA basketball. “Just watching film, I’m trying to listen to everything he [Coach Cronin] asks me to do and then just go from there.”

So far, Sebastian Mack has handled the transition very well. It's not very common to see a true freshman come in and have the kind of impact on a team that Mack is having on UCLA. He seems poised for a successful career with the Bruins, and he will be a major piece to the puzzle for this year's team.

UCLA could very easily be 6-0 and highly ranked right now, but they still need to get over the hump. The Bruins will be back in action on Thursday night at home against UC Riverside. Don't be surprised if this team climbs into the rankings sooner rather than later.