Russell Westbrook 2.0

by RLB on Aug 12, 2008 6:44 PM PDT Comment 11 comments

He kind of reminded me a lot of (Russell) Westbrook (an NBA lottery pick in June). He can play both on the ball and off the ball in the backcourt for UCLA. He has incredible quickness and is a very capable ballhandler. He can make the ‘3’ and beat people off the dribble. He also is hungry to defend.

FIBA stat line: 11 ppg, 3.6 rpg, 50 percent from field, 19.8 mpg

Davidson coach Bob McKillop's thoughts on incoming UCLA basketball freshmen Malcolm Lee

This is a FanPost and does not necessarily reflect the views of BruinsNation's (BN) editors. It does reflect the views of this particular fan though, which is as important as the views of BN's editors.

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Another Westbrook?

Yes please.

by Tydides on Aug 12, 2008 6:58 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

"hungry to defend"

With that attitude Malcolm will find Howlandwood a very “comfortable” place.

by Nestor on Aug 12, 2008 7:52 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

I hope so in more ways than one

Beside being freakishly athletic, RW, like DC, is a 110% team player. RW not just sat behind DC but did it without hesitation (just as DC did when he was behind JF).

ML has got the talent, there’s no question about that. But with DC and JS back for their senior seasons, super phenom JH coming in, and MR returning from injury, the backcourt might be a bit crowded. ML will get some minutes, as RW and DC did when they were in their first season, and I’m sure CBH wouldn’t have brought him in if the kid didn’t have the right attitude re: waiting his turn.

Seems to be every guy on that squad is willing to step aside for the good of the team (especially LMR). Got to love a team that isn’t just one of the most talented in the country, but is one of the classiest. Especially when compared to “me first” Second Choice.

Can’t wait until CRN gets our football program to where CBH has taken our hoops program.

by norcald503 on Aug 12, 2008 8:04 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

Agreed about DC/RW being good team players but

but one thing to remember is neither of them all that highly recruited/ranked of entering their freshmen years, so its a slightly different situation from here on out in that we are going to have the choice of 4 star/5 star guys to find and IMO its harder to find highly talented players willing to wait their turn. I’ve heard it mentioned somewhere that its not likely players at Mata/Moute’s even get recruited to UCLA these days.

Which is why IMO its important to have glue guys that aren’t the most highly ranked, but thats a topic for a different day.

by kidro2001 on Aug 12, 2008 11:58 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Trust in Howland

If CBH brought these guys in, then I have to believe that he thinks they have the right attitude to play within his team-first, defense-oriented program. Sometimes that doesn’t work out (Stanback). That said, I think Stanback was in a unique position: stuck behind the upperclassmen but then faced with the prospect of having to compete with one of the most loaded recruiting classes for time.

As for ML and JA, I think they’re wise enough to see that once DC and JS graduate after this season, the keys to the backcourt will be in their hands. Not starting as freshmen worked out well for RW and DC.

And, IIRC, CBH had Ced Bozeman slated to be our starting PG, with highly-touted JF sitting behind him; had Bozeman not been lost to injury, JF, like DC and RW, would have been sitting behind someone too. So it’s not like CBH hasn’t had to tell a highly-touted kid he’d have to wait his turn before.

by norcald503 on Aug 13, 2008 7:22 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Never said I didn't trust Howland

All I was saying was that its a different situation. RW, who only had offers from UCLA and USD, waiting his turn isn’t the same thing as Malcolm Lee simply because Lee is more highly touted. Your example of Farmar suits the situation well. Never did I say I CBH couldn’t handle it.

My other point was that given the caliber of players we are recruiting, there are less team-oriented guys at that caliber than at the level we were recruiting at before. High Caliber players tend to believe they should be the stars of their respective teams.

by kidro2001 on Aug 13, 2008 9:26 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

That's an assumption you're making

“there are less team-oriented guys at that caliber than at the level we were recruiting at before”.

You’re only thinking of the caliber of talent.

Howland recruits high-caliber characters, on top of talent. Talent alone does not get you into UCLA in the Ben Howland era.

I have yet to see him recruit a player who we thought would be a selfish ball-hog.

So I have to disagree with you completely, as of right now. I don’t see any of these players putting themselves before the team, just so they can be stars.

by tasser10 on Aug 13, 2008 1:23 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Agree w/ tasser10

I’m not saying you don’t trust in CBH, but I’m saying worrying about ML is unnecessary. As tasser points out, CBH doesn’t just bring in elite talent; he brings in elite talent with the requisite atitude to play at UCLA.

So perhaps you’re right in that there are fewer team-oriented elite caliber type players. While I don’t concede that’s true, even assuming it is, CBH has shown us he finds the elite talent with the elite mentality.

That, in my opinion, is part of CBH’s brillance and what I love about this program.

by norcald503 on Aug 13, 2008 5:53 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

I thought he was talking about Jrue

The fact that Malcom is being compared to Russ has got to get you pretty excited about this incoming class and another run for #12.

by Ajax on Aug 12, 2008 10:42 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

Ben Howland

is not just building teams for winning seasons. He is building a winning dynasty. I have 100% faith that he considers all factors-not just athletic skill and raw talent-when he recruits these terrific kids.

“Another” Russell Westbrook? HELL yes! Thank you, Coach Howland.

Love My Bruins

by Bruingirl83 on Aug 13, 2008 10:31 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs