UCLA Basketball

UCLA's Shareef O'Neal is back on the basketball court.

O'Neal used a medical redshirt for last season after UCLA doctors discovered a heart ailment during summer workouts. O'Neal, the son of Hall of Famer Shaquille, underwent successful heart surgery on Dec. 13 and missed his entire freshman season.

On Wednesday, the 19-year-old posted photos of his return:

O'Neal signed his letter of intent to the Bruins in August 2018 as the No. 41-ranked prospect by 247Sports.

Ben Bolch of the Los Angeles Times explained in September that O'Neal's heart had an "electrical problem" that surgery was supposed to correct fully.

At the time of his surgery, O'Neal appeared in a video for TMZ (h/t ESPN.com's Myron Medcalf) and assured that the heart condition is "absolutely not" career-ending. He is expected to be able to take the floor for UCLA next season.

UCLA (17-16) could have certainly used the 6'9", 215-point 4-star recruit on the court last season, as sixth-year head coach Steve Alford was fired on Dec. 31 after the team got off to a sluggish 7-6 start.

Now that O'Neal is on the mend, he is wearing the scar down the middle of his chest as a badge:

O'Neal has seven months to return to full health and breathe new air into UCLA alongside guard Tyger Campbell, who also missed his freshman season because of a torn ACL during an October practice.

The refurbished Bruins will be led into 2019-20 by new head coach Mick Cronin, who took the Cincinnati Bearcats to the NCAA tournament in every season since 2010-11.

Tennessee fans excited to still have Rick Barnes as head basketball coach should thank the buyout clause in his contract with the school. 

Per Mike Wilson of the Knoxville News Sentinel, Barnes admitted he thinks he "would have been the coach at UCLA" if his buyout had been settled. 

Per Evan Daniels of 247Sports, Barnes emerged as a "serious candidate" for UCLA's head coaching job earlier this month. 

On April 8, ESPN's Chris Low reported Barnes turned down an offer of $5 million per year from the Bruins to sign a new deal at Tennessee. 

Daniels noted Barnes' buyout from Tennessee was $5 million as part of the extension he signed with the school in September 2018. That deal made him the second-highest paid head coach in the SEC at $3.25 million, behind Kentucky's John Calipari ($9.276 million).  

The Bruins ultimately hired Mick Cronin away from Cincinnati for six years and $24 million, per ESPN's Jeff Borzello.

Barnes just finished his fourth season with the Volunteers. They tied the school single-season record with 31 wins and advanced to the Sweet 16 for the first time in five years in 2018-19. 

UCLA will hope to get its basketball program back on track with the hiring of Mick Cronin as the team's newest head coach. 

According to ESPN.com's Jeff Borzello, Cronin's deal is worth $24 million over six years. 

TCU coach Jamie Dixon had initially seemed like he would be the team's next head coach, but his $8 million buyout caused the deal to fall through.

Cronin has spent the past 13 years at Cincinnati, accumulating a 296-147 record. Adding in his three years with Murray State, and he has 365 victories at the Division I level.

The coach had turned the Bearcats into one of the most consistent teams in college basketball, reaching the NCAA tournament in each of the last nine years. The squad also won the AAC tournament in each of the past two seasons.

Lack of postseason success has been a bit of a problem as Cronin is just 6-9 in the NCAA tournament with Cincinnati, including only one Sweet 16 berth.

However, his consistency throughout his career speaks for itself, as does his knack for strong defenses every single season.

The Bruins are coming off a disappointing 17-16 season that saw Steve Alford get fired after 13 games. Murry Bartow took over and didn't find much more success as the team missed the postseason for the second time in four years.

It has been an overall disappointing decade for the once-proud program, which has 11 NCAA championships but hasn't won a title since 1995. The last Final Four appearance was in 2008, but the team hasn't advanced beyond the Sweet 16 in the last 11 years.

The good news is there is young talent on the roster, even with Kris Wilkes and potentially others heading to the NBA. There were zero seniors on last year's squad and the returning players, plus recruits Jaime Jaquez and Jake Kyman, can help the team return to contention in the Pac-12.

If Cronin can get his system into place, he can help UCLA reach expectations before too long.

UCLA has reportedly presented Rick Barnes with a "lucrative offer" offer to be its next head men's basketball coach, according to Chris Low of ESPN. 

The deal would reportedly pay the 64-year-old coach $5 million per year, plus bonuses and incentives.

However, per Low, Barnes is "wrestling with a decision" to take the offer or stay at Tennessee, where he has spent the past four seasons. UCLA believed to have sealed the deal with Barnes before Tennessee countered with "more money," according to Seth Davis of The Athletic. If Barnes stays at Tennessee, Cincinnati coach Mick Cronin will become the top option, per Davis.

The coach made $3.25 million this season and is signed through 2023-24, while his contract comes with a $5 million buyout. The buyout was a holdup for TCU coach Jamie Dixon, who appeared set to take the UCLA job until his $8 million buyout caused the deal to fall through, per Ben Bolch of the Los Angeles Times.

Barnes was named the Naismith Coach of the Year this season after leading Tennessee to a 31-6 record. The squad reached the No. 1 ranking in the polls just two years after missing the NCAA tournament with a 16-16 record.

The Volunteers also became the third different program to reach the Sweet 16 under Barnes.

Over the course of 32 years at the Division I level, Barnes has won 692 games, including 402 in his 17 years at Texas.

UCLA is clearly willing to give a lot of money to someone with this type of resume, but Barnes reportedly is still torn about whether or not to stay in Knoxville.

One factor could be Tennessee likely losing a good chunk of its production from this year's team if Grant Williams follows Admiral Schofield and Jordan Bone to the NBA as expected. Joining the Bruins could prevent a rebuild with the Volunteers in 2019-20.

UCLA continues to search for a new head basketball coach, and Rick Barnes has reportedly "emerged as a serious candidate," according to Evan Daniels of 247Sports.

Barnes has spent the past four years as head coach of Tennessee after 17 years at Texas.

The Bruins appeared ready to hire TCU coach Jamie Dixon, but the deal fell through as a result of his $8 million buyout.

Barnes would be one of the most proven coaches available for UCLA after compiling a 692-364 career record at the Division I level.

He has taken four different programs to the NCAA tournament in four different major conferences, beginning with Providence in 1989 before eventually moving to Clemson, Texas and Tennessee. He won more than 400 games with the Longhorns, going to the Final Four in 2003.

The 64-year-old has also showed he can turn around a major program in a hurry, transforming Tennessee from a 15-19 squad in 2015-16 to a national title contender this season. The Volunteers went 31-6 while reaching the No. 1 ranking in the Associated Press poll before suffering a Sweet 16 loss in the NCAA tournament.

Of course, postseason struggles are nothing new to Barnes, who has just a 24-24 career record in the NCAA tournament despite often having high seeds. This could be a concern for UCLA, which is hoping to improve upon the Steve Alford era that featured three Sweet 16 appearances in six seasons.

After a 17-16 season, however, the Bruins will hope to find anyone who can get the program back on track.

Jamie Dixon is not expected to be hired as the UCLA head coach despite a report earlier in the week that the Bruins had chosen the TCU Horned Frogs coach to fill their vacancy, according to Ben Bolch of the Los Angeles Times.

Bolch noted that Dixon's $8 million buyout has prevented a deal from being reached. TCU is not willing to lower the amount, and UCLA is unwilling to meet that price.

Dixon signed a two-year extension with TCU through the 2023-24 season in April 2018.

Dixon has spent the last three seasons at TCU after spending 13 years at Pittsburgh. He has led the Horned Frogs to a 68-41 record and one NCAA tournament berth during his tenure. While they found themselves ranked in the top 25 multiple times amid a 12-1 start, they did not receive an invitation to the Big Dance following a 23-14 performance.

The 53-year-old has a career 396-164 record and 12 NCAA tournament appearances in 16 seasons.

Dixon was named the men's 2008-09 Naismith College Coach of the Year after leading the Pitt Panthers to a 31-win season.

Meanwhile, UCLA will continue its search for a head coach. Steve Alford was fired in December amid a 7-6 start, and interim coach Murry Bartow led the team to a 10-10 mark down the stretch. This season marked just the second time in seven years the Bruins have not gone dancing.

The storied program has not advanced past the Sweet 16 since 2008, though.

Assuming Dixon is indeed out of the running, UCLA may turn its attention back to Cincinnati Bearcats coach Mick Cronin, who Bolch identified as a finalist for the job. Cronin is 296-147 in 13 seasons at Cincinnati, leading the Bearcats to the NCAA tournament in each of the last nine years.

UCLA's search for a new men's basketball coach has led the school to engage TCU's Jamie Dixon in contract talks.

Per ESPN.com's Jeff Borzello, Dixon's representatives and UCLA "have engaged on contract parameters and his buyout" at TCU, but no deal has been agreed to at this point. Dixon and UCLA are looking to reduce the $8M buyout to a "substantially lower figure," according to Ben Bolch of the Los Angeles Times.

The Bruins have been in the market for a new full-time head coach since firing Steve Alford on Dec. 31 following a 7-6 start to the 2018-19 season. 

Murry Bartow served as UCLA's interim coach, posting a 10-10 record over the season's final 20 games.

Per The Athletic's Seth Davis, UCLA tried to lure John Calipari away from Kentucky by offering him a deal worth $48 million over six years. 

Despite that heavy interest from the Bruins, Calipari confirmed on his radio show he's agreed to a new lifetime contract to remain at Kentucky. 

Dixon has gone 68-41 with one NCAA tournament appearance in three seasons at TCU. He agreed to a contract extension with the Horned Frogs last April that runs through 2023-24. 

Prior to being hired at TCU, Dixon spent 13 seasons at Pittsburgh. The 53-year-old led the Panthers to a 328-123 record, 11 NCAA tournament appearances, two Big East regular-season titles and one Big East tournament title. 

TCU Horned Frogs head coach Jamie Dixon and Cincinnati Bearcats head coach Mick Cronin are the "leading candidates" for the UCLA Bruins vacancy, according to the Los Angeles Times' Ben Bolch.  

UCLA fired Steve Alford on New Year's Eve, and Murry Bartow finished the 2018-19 season as the interim coach. Bolch reported the school wants to have a permanent replacement lined up "within the next week."

Bolch's report comes after Kentucky Wildcats head coach John Calipari was linked to the opening.

According to The Athletic's Seth Davis, Kentucky was prepared to offer Calipari what amounted to a lifetime contract extension in order to ward off the Bruins. Stadium's Jeff Goodman spoke to a Kentucky spokesman who confirmed Calipari and the Wildcats had indeed agreed to a new deal.

Though neither Dixon nor Cronin can match Calipari's resume, either would be a good alternative for UCLA.

Dixon helped make the Pittsburgh Panthers a fixture in the NCAA men's basketball tournament and is in the process of turning TCU around. The Horned Frogs have won 20-plus games during each of his first three years and reached the Big Dance in 2018 before losing in the first round.

Cincinnati, meanwhile, just made its ninth straight tournament appearance under Cronin. The Bearcats reached the Sweet 16 in 2012.

Some Bruins fans might want to see UCLA hire a head coach with a bigger profile, but Bolch offered a harsh dose of reality in his piece, writing the school turned to Dixon and Cronin "after a bevy of more coveted coaches expressed no interest."

UCLA hasn't reached the Elite Eight since 2008, which also served as the last of the team's three straight Final Four appearances. A gulf seems to exist between where the fanbase sees the Bruins and where the program actually is relative to other top teams in the country. Three Sweet 16 appearances in five full seasons weren't enough to save Alford's job.

Historically speaking, UCLA remains one of the most prestigious programs in college basketball. At the moment, the Bruins are well below the standard set by Kentucky, Duke, Michigan State and Virginia, among others.

Hiring Dixon or Cronin—and not a more prominent name—might be an acknowledgment by the administration that a new coach will need time to leave his imprint on the team.

After two years at UCLA, guard Kris Wilkes has announced he is turning pro. 

Wilkes wrote on Twitter he has hired an agent and declared for the 2019 NBA draft: 

Wilkes recently completed a strong sophomore campaign for the Bruins. He led the team in scoring (17.3 points per game) and was named to the All-Pac-12 second team.

B/R's Jonathan Wasserman doesn't have Wilkes ranked among the top 75 draft-eligible prospects in his most recent big board update.

There are some red flags in Wilkes' game that hurt his draft stock. The 20-year-old shot just 43.2 percent this season, and his three-point percentage dropped from 35.2 as a freshman to 33.7.

Even with those rough stats, Wilkes could be a first-rounder in this year's class. He's listed at 6'8" on UCLA's official website, and 247Sports rated him as a 5-star recruit coming out of high school two years ago.

Four months after undergoing heart surgery, Shareef O'Neal, son of Basketball Hall of Famer Shaquille O'Neal, considers his scar a badge of honor.

Shareef posted images of his post-surgery body on Twitter:

Speaking to TMZ Sports last September, O'Neal said UCLA doctors "found a medical issue dealing with my heart." He was forced to sit out his first year with the Bruins basketball team. 

Per Ben Bolch of the Los Angeles Times, there was an "electrical problem" with O'Neal's heart which surgery fully corrected. 

O'Neal told TMZ on March 3 he is about six weeks away from being able to return to the basketball court. He was rated as a 4-star prospect coming out of high school by 247Sports and committed to UCLA in February 2018.