Thursday night’s NBA Draft will likely mark the first time in nine years that UCLA has had a player chosen in the top 10 picks.
It will also be another reminder of how much talent the Bruins have lost since their run to the Final Four last season.
Freshman forward Kevin Love and sophomore guard Russell Westbrook are both expected to be chosen among the top 10 players. It would be the first time a Bruin player has been selected that early since the Charlotte Hornets chose Baron Davis with the No. 3 overall choice in 1999.
UCLA coach Ben Howland stood behind Love and Westbrook in their decisions to leave school early.
“Kevin is going to have a long and successful career in the NBA,” Howland said after Love declared for the draft on April 17. “I’m very happy for him and wish him nothing but the best.”
Howland seemed just as confident in Westbrook’s prospects.
“Russell has worked very, very hard to put himself in a position where he is projected to be a first-round draft pick,” Howland said. “I am 100 percent supportive of him.”
After two months of workouts, it looks like both Love and Westbrook will be selected higher than expected.
Love, a burly power forward who spent just one season in Westwood, could go as high as No. 5 overall, to the Memphis Grizzlies. Memphis is in the market for a big man after selecting guards Mike Conley Jr. and Kyle Lowry in the last two drafts. If Memphis does pass, the Charlotte Bobcats and New Jersey Nets would be likely to select Love with the No. 9 or No. 10 selections.
Westbrook is more of a wild card. When he put his name into the draft in April, Westbrook said he expected to be chosen anywhere from pick No. 15 to pick No. 25.
Now some experts predict that Westbrook could go as high as No. 4 overall to the Seattle Supersonics, or No. 6 overall, to the New York Knicks. If Westbrook slides past that group of teams, he will likely fall to the Los Angeles Clippers at pick No. 7, or the Indiana Pacers at pick No. 11.
Westbrook has soared on many draft boards because of his improved jump shot. Teams already like his defensive prowess and athletic ability. At 6 feet 3 inches, he has good size to play point guard in the NBA.
“A lot of people say I can’t shoot,” Westbrook said in an interview with Oregonlive.com. “But I’ve been working all summer and I continue to be confident.”
Love and Westbrook will leave a significant void in the Bruins’ lineup next year, and so will junior forward Luc Richard Mbah a Moute, who has also chosen to enter the NBA Draft.
Unlike Westbrook and Love, Mbah a Moute surprised many when he announced his decision to leave UCLA. He is not expected to be picked in the first round, and he may not be selected at all.
That’s a risk Mbah a Moute is willing to take. The 6-8 inch forward is known for his defensive abilities. He once locked down Oregon’s speedy point guard, Tajuan Porter. But he has a very raw, and sometimes inconsistent, jump shot, and he struggled with injuries last season. He could be chosen in the middle of the second round, but those choices are much harder to prognosticate. Even after working out with Charlotte, the Chicago Bulls, Milwaukee Bucks and Dallas Mavericks, there is no guarantee that Mbah a Moute will hear his name called Thursday.
Mbah a Moute’s departure may hit UCLA the hardest, even though he scored less than Love and Westbrook last season.
It seemed that UCLA knew all along that Love would spend just one year in college. And with three highly-touted guards in the incoming recruiting class, there will be plenty of candidates to replace Westbrook.
Mbah Moute is a different case. He was the Bruins most versatile defender last season, and, when healthy, one of the team’s better rebounders. That presence will be gone, and the team will have to turn to inexperienced players, such as sophomore James Keefe, to fill in.
Howland’s team will also have to cope with the loss of freshman Chace Stanback, who announced his intent to transfer this spring but hasn’t yet picked a new school.
In a recent conference call with reporters, Howland said having just 11 players on scholarship will leave the Bruins “a little shorthanded.” But he added that the team will have to rely on the experience of returning seniors Alfred Aboya, Darren Collison and Josh Shipp.
Those adjustments won’t be anything new for Howland and his staff. The Bruins had to replace star point guard Jordan Farmar in 2006, and shooting guard Arron Afflalo last season. Afflalo and Farmar were both first-round draft picks.