Last Updated: November 04, 2023, 02:30 IST
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UCLA’s Charisma Osborne appeared to have the ultimate house sport most gamers dream about final March 20 when she scored a careerhigh 36 factors and acquired the Bruins into the Sweet 16 within the NCAA Tournament.
LOS ANGELES: UCLA’s Charisma Osborne appeared to have the ultimate house sport most gamers dream about final March 20 when she scored a career-high 36 factors and acquired the Bruins into the Sweet 16 within the NCAA Tournament.
It seems it wasn’t Osborne’s final look at Pauley Pavilion. She determined the WNBA can look ahead to yet another 12 months and opted for a fifth and ultimate season in Westwood.
“I think Charisma came back because she just felt like there was some more to do. She wanted to finish (with the tank on) empty and accomplish all that she came here to do. She’s looking really good so far,” coach Cori Close mentioned.
The senior guard who was a projected first-round choose talked to Close after the Bruins’ eventual loss to South Carolina within the Sweet 16. When Osborne requested Close what she thought she ought to do, Close mentioned the ultimate resolution was Osborne’s to make.
“When she left, my mom said she’s just not done yet. And that was just my mom’s perception of it. But she happened to be right,” Close mentioned.
Even although Osborne answered questions after the March 20 sport in opposition to Oklahoma as if it was her house finale, she had been leaning towards coming again. After she made her resolution, Osborne mentioned one of many figuring out components was the total faculty expertise.
“After we lost in the Sweet 16, I had to really decide. It was in the back of my mind what I wanted to do but I think in those last 48 hours I was like, come back,” she mentioned.
Osborne was the one participant within the Pac-12 final season to steer her group in scoring (15.9 factors per sport), rebounding (5.9 per sport) and steals (1.4 per sport). She began all 36 video games and was fifth within the convention in scoring, together with eight video games of 20 factors or extra. The Bruins gained seven of eight video games final season when she scored at the least 20.
She additionally had six double-doubles, second amongst guards within the convention.
Osborne’s return put UCLA firmly within the dialog concerning the nation’s prime groups coming into the season. The Bruins are ranked fourth within the preseason Associated Press Top 25. It is their highest preseason place within the ballot’s historical past and their highest spot since they had been fourth on Jan. 2, 1979.
UCLA had the nation’s top-ranked recruiting class final season, however the whole roster didn’t start to gel till late within the season, when it acquired to the title sport within the Pac-12 match then made a run to the Sweet 16 for the primary time since 2019.
Despite being the convention’s highest-ranked group within the preseason, the Bruins had been picked to complete second behind Utah.
“I think we try not to talk too much about it. We have to prove to ourselves that we are a top-five team. And I think that we’ve been doing that and working towards that every day in practice,” Osborne mentioned.
Sophomore Kiki Rice will group up with Osborne once more within the backcourt after averaging 11.6 factors final season. UCLA additionally acquired an enormous addition when heart Lauren Betts transferred from Stanford.
The Bruins have a troublesome nonconference schedule. There are two Big Ten groups, together with Monday’s opener in opposition to Purdue, and three ranked groups — No. 3 UConn, No. 7 Ohio State and No. 18 Florida State. There can be a street sport in opposition to Arkansas.
“We’re not playing to be the best in November or December. We’re playing to be our best in March,” Close mentioned. “You have to look at all of those things as barometers, well, is the number real or not? Or do we have some work to do to live up to our talent? Really, that just shows potential and talent level. We have a lot of potential and a lot of talent level. Now, what are we going to do with that?”
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AP ladies’s faculty basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-womens-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/womens-college-basketball
(This story has not been edited by News18 workers and is revealed from a syndicated information company feed – Associated Press)
