With the future of guards Arron Afflalo and Jordan Farmar still
up in the air, the UCLA basketball team added some depth at the
guard position Tuesday. Sources have indicated that Russell
Westbrook, a 6-foot-2-inch shooting guard out of Leuzinger High
School (Lawndale, Calif.), has verbally committed to UCLA and will
join the Bruin squad for the 2006-2007 season. Westbrook, rated as
a four-star recruit by Scout.com, had been recruited by several
schools and had reportedly narrowed his decision down to Arizona
State and UCLA this week before making his decision to come to UCLA
on Tuesday. The apparent addition of Westbrook comes in the midst
of uncertainty concerning the status of Farmar and Afflalo. Afflalo
delayed a press conference that was set for Tuesday because he
needed more time to make a final decision on whether or not to test
the NBA Draft waters. While Farmar has not yet declared any kind of
press conference, draft projections typically have him going from
the late first round to the early second round. But despite the
timing of Westbrook’s addition, it would be a mistake to look
at Westbrook as simply an insurance policy in case either Farmar or
Afflalo leave. Westbrook averaged 28 points and 8.7 rebounds in his
senior year at Leuzinger and is rated among the top 25 shooting
guards in the nation by Scout.com. In one of his high school games,
Westbrook scored 51 points, brought down 14 rebounds, had three
assists, and went 12-14 from the free-throw line.
DANIELS TO STAY: Assistant coach Donny Daniels, who was among
three finalists for the head coaching vacancy at Pepperdine
University, will be staying at UCLA for now. The coaching vacancy,
which was created after the Waves fired Paul Westphal, will instead
be filled by Vance Walberg. Walberg was the two-time junior college
coach of the year at Fresno City College and is known for his
fast-paced, high-scoring offensive strategy. Daniels, a strong
recruiter for the UCLA program, has been on the Bruin staff as an
assistant for the past three years. Before that, Daniels was the
head coach at Cal State Fullerton from 2000 to 2003 and an
assistant to Rick Majerus at Utah from 1990 to 2000.