UCLA Skills Camp Report

Coach Howland and his staff have been hard at work evaluating talent at UCLA skills camp at Pauley. ESPN has a report on the top performers hoping to impress Coach Howland and perhaps nag an offer to be the next Ben Ball warriors. Here are the two top headliners:

Tyler Honeycutt (6-8, 180)
2009, Sylmar, Calif.
After a pedestrian first day of camp during which his effort level wasn't where it needed to be, Honeycutt was the most impressive performer the next day. He has a slight frame due to his continued growth spurt, but his athleticism and skills are coming along nicely. He has a smooth stroke out beyond the stripe, and he is getting better breaking defenders down off the bounce -- although he needs to bring his dribble down. What separates Honeycutt from most wings is his passing ability. He handed out a number of assists that were impressive, demonstrating his overall feel for the game. His rebounding ability has improved since the regular season, but he needs to become tougher, especially on the defensive end.

Tyler Lamb (6-4, 190)
2010, Ontario, Calif./ Colony
Lamb might have been the most consistent performer of the camp. His game has grown steadily in the past year and his demeanor is terrific. His handle has improved significantly as well, and despite not having great quickness, he has one of the better crossover moves in the West. In addition, he utilizes the pump fake as well as anybody on the high school level. Lamb still needs to hone his fundamentals -- he has a tendency to leave his feet while attempting to pass in the paint -- and continue to smoothen out his jump shot, which has a slow release, but overall his progress has been excellent.

For details on other performers go here.

Coach Howland is so well entrenched at this point and he has our program in the kind of place where he has the luxury to strategize on which specific elite recruits he want to zero in on and lock in. It will be fun to see how he rounds up the class of 2009 as  he is already off to a fantastic start with the commitments from Nelson and Lane.

GO BRUINS.