Tyler Honeycutt, Malcolm Lee Both Slip Into Second Round of NBA Draft

I know they made the decisions to go pro but you can’t help but feel bad for both of them…each stuck in terrible situations basketball-wise. And I feel bad for us as UCLA fans robbed of a what could have been a very special season. Disappointment all around.

In all honesty, TH and ML went about where I thought they would go. Had the draft been held the night after the Kansas game, TH would have been a lottery pick. Unfortunately, it wasn’t, and from that point on TH was in coast mode.

ML played hard, but he looked like a second rounder to me. Nobody in the NBA gives a shit about his scout ranking coming out of high school. He doesn’t have the athletic explosion to make up for his lack of offensive skills. He’s a plus defensively, which is why he was picked.

Negatives aside, I think TH and ML can both be good pros. TH has a lot of skill, and ML is a consistent jump shot away from being a very good player. They were both drafted low enough to make any substantial contribution make their respective GM’s look very good. TH is a good weakside defender, and really doesn’t have much standing in his way at the 3 spot in SAC. ML is in a pretty exciting position with himself, Rubio, and Derrick Williams joining KLove and Beasley. ML has always been at his best in the open court, and they will definitely run. His on ball D will be very useful with Rubio in the backcourt, so I think he should also have a great shot at early PT.

At the end of the day, if you are not a lottery pick, your destination matters much more than your slot. Yes, they will both have to earn their money the hard way, but they should be very well versed in hard work. The UCLA Factor does not simply consist of a good fundamental skillset, but also familiarity with hard work and game improvement. If these two continue to utilize the skills that CBH has been teaching, they will enjoy long careers.

A’s post restates the following in different ways;

There’s too much I don’t know.

One thing we do not know, and I mean do not know, is how Malcom or Tyler were doing in school. We do not know what there grades were or whether they were comfortable being college students. One thing every member of this community will agree on (other than an unrelenting disgust with the letters usc)—its tough to graduate from UCLA. Tough in terms of classroom work and the everyday social pressures of schleping to class and finding meaning in what the profs have to say.

Whether they were finding satisfaction in being students—we do not know. Whether either kid could have continued to meet the academic rigors of UCLA, we do not know.

Kareem, when he was senior, was interviewed on the teevee about classroom work. Kareem (then Lewis, as Coach called him) spoke about a history class and a a paper he was writing. IIRC, it was an American history class. Anyway, he spoke about the paper and his interaction with the professor. (He said the same thing in a UCLA fundraising TV spot shot in the last couple of years.) But in either 1968 or 1969, while still a student, he spoke with enthusiasm about the paper and the process of writing it. I have never heard Malcolm or Tyler make similar comments. Kareem was enthused by the academic experience. We do not know whether the same applies to Malcolm or Tyler.

I hope they turned pro because they got, what this morning, looks like bad advice; not because they couldn’t cut it academically or they were awash in unhappiness at the UCLA experience.

Last add. And I hope they have great NBA careers and return to get their degrees.

Go Bruins!

I think it is clear that Honeycutt, with 2 years of eligibility remaining and plenty of upside, could have made himself into a first round pick by sticking around.

In Lee’s case: this is regarded as one of the most talent-poor drafts in recent memory, with so many kids choosing to go back to school (in large part due to the uncertain labor situation); next year’s draft will be loaded. It is entirely possible that Malcolm could have come back, become a better scorer and leader, and still been a second round pick after his senior year. So, while we were hoping he might sneak into the first round in this weak draft based on his workouts, his draft position in the middle of the second round doesn’t necessarily show he made a mistake in coming out. Being a fundamentally sound senior leader on a high quality program doesn’t guarantee much (see Kyle Singler, who was at the top of the 2nd round as a senior but might have snuck in to the bottom of the 1st round as a junior….)

I agree with A, there is / was something in Honeycutt, an aura that doesn’t play out in what you “think” you should be seeing from a young man with his obvious physical skills. It seems to me that he has an inflated opinion of himself and thus a inability to recognize his needed areas of improvement. One, or even better two more years in the program would have more than likely insured him as a first round pick, maybe even low lottery. Unfortunately the inability to recognize areas of needed improvement and accurately judge against strengths, with an eye toward your placement in the worldwide backdrop of players available is a skill that would be beyond many 19-20 year olds. (I have firsthand knowledge of this type of mentality in my own 19 year old son who always thinks he is better than he actually is.) That is where good counsel comes in, and either it was not given from CBH and staff (we don’t and cannot know) or it was ignored. I wish the best to Tyler, but I feel that he has an uphill battle on a very steep hill in front of him. The price of maturity is very often painful.

is that it means the earlier you leave, the less time you spend learning under Howland, and the less it factors in.

Honeycutt’s proclaimation about himself being the “most athletic” player in the draft and comaprable to (insert various NBA all-stars) means that he doesn’t have the humility to succeed as an NBA player. He needs to learn that fast.

Even the most talented players—Kobe, Durant, Nowitzki—are humble relative to the game (they might be arrogant otherwise, but they don’t take their physical gifts for granted). Perhaps only LeBron isn’t humble, but when you’re 6’8" and 270 lb, lightning fast, and have a good handle, you actually are the most athletic person on the court instead of just imagining it (and even then he’s eaten a few slices of humble pie).

For most of last season, they had Honeycutt going in the lottery in 2012 and Lee going in the top 20-25 in 2012. It’s easy to see why, and has been touched on by pretty much everyone in this comments thread: both are extremely talented, athletic guys who seriously lack the polish, experience, instincts, and hoops IQ required of NBA players. Playing another year of college, in one of the best basketball schools in the country, surrounded by a much-improved supporting cast (considering the huge step that Josh Smith is likely to take, as well as the impact the incoming Wear twins are likely to have), would have cemented their NBA resumes and earned them those high 2012 draft spots. Instead…they took the easy way out, and might not play any basketball at all this next year with the likely NBA lockout. I’m not trying to say, “Haha, told you so!”, but at the same time…