In Reply to: UCLA lands Nikola Kusturica, potential future No. 1 NBA draft pic posted by mh on July 09, 2026 at 12:22:56
I copied and pasted this section of the long article from CBS Sports.
UCLA's updated outlook
There may be a little PTSD after UCLA's international foray in 2023-24 crashed and burned. Aday Mara was supposed to be a lottery pick. He became one … for Michigan. Berke Buyuktuncel played his best basketball … for Nebraska (and now he's at Vanderbilt, where he'll be fantastic). Jan Vide and Ilane Fibleuil didn't pop for the Bruins and transferred after one season under Cronin.
But Kusturica is totally different.
The 6-foot-8 wing's superpower is cutting and activity. The motor is always revving, which should endear him to Cronin and this UCLA coaching staff. Patience will be required for a 17-year-old who will have to play a vastly different off-ball role at UCLA after moving across the globe, but there's room at the inn for Kusturica to be a Day One starter on the wing with superstar potential in 2027-28 after a year building up his body in UCLA's strength and conditioning program.
Kusturica serves as the final piece of a busy UCLA offseason. Tyler Bilodeau, Skyy Clark and Donovan Dent all exhausted eligibility, but Cronin retained three starters in point guard Trent Perry, smooth forward Eric Dailey Jr. and big man Xavier Booker, who took major strides down the stretch of his first season in Westwood.
Kusturica joins light-it-up, Texas Tech transfer guard Jaylen Petty, rugged Auburn transfer forward Filip Jovic, Butler transfer guard Azavier Robinson, Mississippi State forward Sergej Macura and four-star defensive wing Joe Philon as UCLA's most notable newcomers.
UCLA does not project to have elite interior defense, but it looks every bit the part of a top-25 team in 2026-27 with Perry and Petty forming a dynamic shot-making backcourt to complement Dailey and Kusturica, who can both operate as mismatch hunters. Kusturica earned 22 (!) free throw attempts in the showdown against Boumtje-Boumtje and Team USA. That ability to deck it and slash to the cup is certainly a welcome complement for a UCLA starting lineup that has shooting at all five positions, leaving the paint open for Kusturica's slick drives.
The mental makeup matters here, too. Kusturica has the reputation of a tireless competitor. That fits right in with Perry and especially Petty, who might be generously listed at 6-foot-1 but plays with a fearlessness that you just can't teach.
UCLA looks poised to be a real threat in a wide-open Big Ten that features three stacked rosters in Michigan, Michigan State and Illinois, and a whole bunch of new-look outfits after that.
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UCLA starting lineup projection
G Trent Perry
G Jaylen Petty (Texas Tech transfer)
F Nikola Kusturica
F Eric Dailey Jr.
F Xavier Booker
Top bench options: F Filip Jovic, G Stink Robinson, G Eric Freeny, F Brandon Williams, F Joe Philon, F Sergej Macura