The comparisons between Bob Chesney and Curt Cignetti are numerous. Both worked their way up as journeymen from the lower levels of the sport, stacking double-digit-win teams and even placing players in the NFL. For Chesney, his path took him from Division III Salve Regina to Division II Assumption to FCS Holy Cross.
Conference championships followed at each stop. Both coached at James Madison, where they led the Dukes to conference championships and, for Chesney, a spot in the 12-team playoff. Both moved to down-on-their-luck Big Ten basketball schools and brought in players they were familiar with to help revamp their rosters.
Thirteen JMU players followed Cignetti to Bloomington, and seven remained on the national title roster. UCLA has a dozen former Dukes on its roster, and roughly half are significant contributors. A key difference in roster build is the perceived level of talent.
Whereas Indiana ranked 72nd in the 247Sports Talent Composite coming into last season, UCLA is 24th in 2026, largely due to the retention of key players, notably five-star Nico Iamaleava. At Indiana, Cignetti has capped one of the great turnaround stories in the sport's history with a national title. In Chesney's case, he hopes his import will also produce program-changing results.
It's certainly too early to tell, but how are these Bruins built? CBS Sports goes inside the roster to break it down. Note: If the player is a transfer, the star rating is his 247Sports transfer rating, not his high school rating.
"(2025)" denotes a player in UCLA's 2025 transfer class, and therefore inherited by Chesney. Nico Iamaleava — Sr. | Transfer from Tennessee | ★★★★★ (2025) According to Iamaleava, it only took one meeting to convince him that staying at UCLA and close to home was the right decision. Chesney has been clear that retaining him was key in bridging the culture past the dysfunction of the 2025 season.
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