UCLA forward Wanaah Bail has been ruled academically ineligible and will sit out the remainder of the season, leaving an already thin Bruins roster with just two frontcourt reserves.
After an injury-riddled freshman year, Bail was averaging 1.5 points and 2.6 rebounds in nine minutes per game. He made 11 appearances as a sophomore, but saw his usage dwindle consistently: after playing a career-high 17 minutes in UCLA’s season opener, Bail’s minutes dropped to 15, 12 and 10 in the next three games.
He never played more than eight after Thanksgiving, and was a healthy scratch in the Bruins’ 87-74 loss to then-No. 9 Gonzaga on Dec. 13. He ended his season by playing eight minutes in an 83-44 blowout loss to No. 1 Kentucky.
There was little to like about Bail’s performance this year. He shot an abysmal 38.9 percent from the field — with all his attempts coming inside the arc — and made only 3 of 9 free throws. But at 6-foot-9, 215 pounds, he was an athletic body in a rotation that is losing more and more of them.
With a game at Alabama on Sunday to end the nonconference schedule, UCLA’s only options on the bench now are sophomore wing Noah Allen — who is the only backcourt backup — and true freshmen Thomas Welsh and Gyorgy Goloman. Both Welsh and Goloman have committed fouls at a high rate, which will likely put more pressure on junior Tony Parker and five-star freshman Kevon Looney to stay on the floor.