As Mick Cronin enters his eighth year at the helm of UCLA basketball, the Bruins have put together quite an impressive roster.

However, as with many other rosters in college basketball, the team may need some time to gel together and play as a team rather than as individuals. With a coach like Cronin, this UCLA team will be centered around a defensive identity; however, the Bruins brought in quite the talent on the offensive end to make a splash.

As the Bruins prepare for their season opener in Las Vegas against the No. 5 Arizona Wildcats, here's where I think their potential lies and what needs to happen for the Bruins to reach their ceiling.

Defensive Identity

Cronin is a defensive-minded head coach, and his team will certainly reflect that this season. I truly believe this Bruins team could be one of the best defensive teams in the country, and their two exhibition games so far have proved it.

In their most recent exhibition against San Diego, they held the Toreros to shooting just 24.2% from the field and 16% from three. The Bruins also had 11 steals in that game with 10 blocks, proving their all-around prowess on the defensive end of the floor.

Even many of the newcomers speak to the defensive identity the Bruins are building. Nikola Kusturica may be the best defender on this team, as his length and pure talent allow him to be. Cronin also brought in Butler transfer Azavier Robinson, who will be very crucial for this team as a perimeter defender.

Offensive Identity

For the Bruins to reach their potential this season, they'll have to prove they can be a highly efficient team on the offensive side of the court.

They certainly have the pieces in place, as Trent Perry and Jaylen Petty offer a fantastic backcourt duo that should result in high offensive production every night. A lot of the responsibility for this offense rests on the shoulders of Perry, who will have to become this team's facilitator and distributor on offense. I have faith that Perry can produce at a high level, both as a scorer and a facilitator, and the remaining pieces of UCLA's roster will make this offense productive.

The frontcourt's offensive ability is where the majority of questions rest. While UCLA won't rely heavily on their frontcourt in terms of scoring, reliability from players like Xavier Booker and Filip Jovic could be the key to this team unlocking its ceiling.

UCLA’s Ceiling

While I do think this team is incredibly talented and has a good mix of both veterans and talented newcomers, there are too many unknown factors in place to call this team Final Four-caliber just yet.

If each player hits their potential, they certainly could, but as of right now, I would label this team's ceiling as an appearance in the Elite Eight. However, it's only October, and things could certainly change in a number of months.