UCLA’s Lena Bilic continues to learn on the fly this season

In the case of Bilic, she’s played a key role for UCLA since the beginning of the season. With all three of Kiki Rice, Charlisse Leger-Walker and Gianna Kneepkens in the starting lineup, that left the Bruins without an experienced ball-handler off the bench.

Enter Bilic. The freshman guard from Croatia has filled that void this season. While UCLA head coach Cori Close likes to have at least one of her experienced ball-handlers on the court at all times, Bilic has shown the ability to make the right decisions with the ball in her hands.

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She lacks positional definition between guard and small forward, but she possesses all-around skills. When she doesn’t have the ball in her hands, she’s found a role as a spot-up shooter playing off the Bruins’ numerous offensive options.

“She’s got some things that are really hard to teach. She’s got a nose for just how to get her feet set for a shot. She’s got a nose of how to get her eyes up on the basket, where her shots are going to come from. Most freshmen are really timid to shoot, and sometimes they hesitate and turn it over more,” Close said back on Dec. 7 after UCLA defeated Oregon. “She’s gonna shoot it before she turns it over, there’s no question about that. But she takes good, on-balance shots, and as a result of that, you have predictable shots you can go rebound.”

That Oregon game was one of Bilic’s best games so far. She finished with 13 points while shooting 5-for-11 from the field and 3-for-6 from the 3-point line. As she continues to get adjusted to the college game, her numbers are obviously going to fluctuate. She’s shooting only 19.6% overall from 3-point range, as per Sports Reference.

But she has a coaching staff that believes in her and teammates that believe in her. They want her to continue to shoot the ball with confidence. That’s one of the main things the staff has told her they want to see during the course of the season.

”Just to bring a little energy,” Bilic told The IX Basketball. “I think the biggest thing for me is just confidence and to be aggressive, that’s the word that they’re always throwing at me. Just to be aggressive.”

And being aggressive doesn’t start with games, it starts with practice. UCLA has had a couple of tough practices this season as they continue to iron out any possible kinks in preparation for what’s expected to be a Final Four run.

Each of the Bruins’ three freshmen have been challenged by the upperclassmen this year, and they’ve been able to power through it. It’s their willingness to learn and be held accountable, especially Bilic, that can pay dividends come tournament time.

“In practice, I’m challenging Lena to get better, and she just takes it and tries to apply it. I really appreciate that about her,” senior Gabriela Jaquez said following UCLA practice last Friday. “They [the freshmen] have been super great and very coachable to the coaches. When you give them suggestions, they really do soak it all over, and I think that’s what’s great about them. Their attitude doesn’t really change.”

With the regular season more than halfway done, Bilic has been playing the most minutes out of any of the freshmen at a little over 15 minutes. Her numbers are modest at 3.9 points and 1.8 rebounds.

Aside from the Oregon game, Bilic had another standout performance this season back on Nov. 23 during UCLA’s win against Southern. She had a season-high 14 points to go along with six rebounds, while shooting 5-for-11 from the field and 4-for-9 from 3-point range.

There are going to be ups and downs during the season, but Bilic credits having a strong, experienced group around her who she can look to as examples to follow. Players who have been in this situation before. It’s given her the confidence to believe she can make an impact whenever she steps on the court.

”I think just watching all the girls in practice a lot, and games of course, just trying to take as much as I can from them in the year that I have with them,” Bilic said. “I think it’s just an amazing opportunity to learn, to literally be a sponge and just taking everything that they’re doing and telling me.”

Being a freshman is not easy. It’s not just on the court that players have to adjust to, it’s essentially a whole new way of life. The downs are often more magnified than the ups, and there are times when nothing seems to be going right. And that’s usually when the coaching staff can help by putting things into proper perspective.

”If you were to ask me, I’m thrilled… I think they’re coming along great. I think they are gonna be such incredible players here. If you ask them, the world is caving in,” Close said following UCLA practice last Friday. “Every freshman, I tell them and their families all the time, they’re going to want to quit a dozen times, transfer a dozen times, usually before Christmas, if not the end of the year. And the reality is, it’s really, really hard. Right now they feel like that can do nothing right.”

”And I think they’re right on track and learning from our upperclassmen, growing from every experience and learning what it takes at this level,” Close continued. “Every freshman thinks they know, but they don’t know what they don’t know. Most freshmen, because they’re so talented, have been rewarded for all the wrong things growing up. So they have to come here and unlearn before they can start to re-learn what it really takes… I think they’re doing great.”

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For Bilic, that experience isn’t just learning how to play the college game and fit in with a cast of future WNBA players. It’s also learning how to be away from home. She’s adjusting to a new country in an unfamiliar environment where she comes across something new each day.

After the Southern game, she joked that every day in practice, she feels like she asks “stupid” questions not just about basketball, but about everyday life. One word in particular she recalls not knowing the meaning of was ‘lantern,’ and that the team had to explain it to her.

But again, she credits having a strong support system around her to help ease the transition as best as they can. She is in constant communication with her family back home, but her UCLA teammates have become an extended family.

”I think it’s important to have a good support system and I’m really thankful and grateful for my family. I talk to them every day, but since they’re not here with me, I’m grateful to be at this school,” Bilic said. “I’m so thankful for the girls and the friendships with them and their support. And the whole staff, the head staff, the supportive staff, they’re just amazing people. They help a lot. We have talks, meetings, they really help me see the big picture.”

It’s no secret that the Bruins have lofty goals this season. After last year’s humiliating defeat by UConn in the Final Four, UCLA is hoping it’s learned from that experience.

Bilic will undoubtedly play a key role in that quest, as she has for most of the season. And for her, aside from helping the team make a deep postseason run, she wants to continue taking in as much as she can from her veteran teammates before they depart at the end of the year.

”This experience, it’s amazing,” Bilic said. “We have a lot of seniors and a lot of them are going to go to the W. I just want to learn as much as I can from them, get as much experience as I can playing high-level basketball and just make myself better.”