What everyone has known for awhile has just become official. One
of the nation’s top ““ if not the top ““ recruits,
Kevin Love, signed a National Letter of Intent to attend UCLA next
year.
Joining the standout center is Chace Stanback, a 6-foot-7,
210-pound guard/forward from Fairfax High School.
Love is considered to be the best big man to come to UCLA in
quite some time, and his versatility and ability to play
unselfishly has coach Ben Howland excited and eager for his arrival
in Westwood.
“Kevin Love signing with our program at UCLA is a huge and
significant signing,” Howland said. “He’s the
number-one player in the country, and he’s the best passing
and outlet passing big man that I’ve seen since Bill Walton
at the college level.”
Love led Lake Oswego High School to an Oregon state championship
title in just his junior year, in which he averaged a double-double
with 28 points and 16.1 rebounds, along with 3.5 assists and 2.3
blocks per game.
His performance that season earned him the title of
Oregon’s Player of the Year and his second consecutive
selection to the All-State first team.
Love’s breakthrough did not come in his junior season
alone, however, as he consistently averaged at least 20 points and
10 rebounds in his first three years of high school.
Howland hopes the 6-foot-10, 250-pound center can continue to do
the same in a Bruin jersey and perhaps reach a milestone never
achieved by a UCLA freshman.
“In the history of UCLA basketball, we have never had a
freshman average a double-double, and I think that he definitely
has that capability as a freshman next year,” Howland said.
“It is absolutely incredible, the skill level he possesses
for his size.”
Love and Stanback both have the work ethic that Howland looks
for in his recruits.
Together, they will give the Bruins ““ who will lose no one
to graduation at the end of this season ““ a bench even deeper
than years past.
Stanback is a former high school teammate of current Bruin
sophomore Josh Shipp.
He contributed to a state championship run during his freshman
year of high school and has since been averaging over 20 points and
7.5 rebounds while being named to the All-City team.
“Chace Stanback is going to be an outstanding college
basketball player,” Howland said.
“He has a great understanding of the game and is also a
great passer and has always been a winner. He is a great addition
to our program,” he said.
With the signing of Love and Stanback to next season’s
squad, Howland has maximized his allotted scholarship spots.
All 13 spots are now filled, with just 11 taken by members of
this year’s team.
Howland’s expectations of Love are evident as he deemed
Wednesday’s signing as one of the best, and the day itself
even better.
“The thing I appreciate the most about Kevin is that he
makes everyone on his team better,” Howland said.
“This is a huge day for UCLA basketball,” he
said.