Last year young Russell Westbrook was a freshman on the UCLA hoops team. He could NOT finish a drive if his life depended on it. He could get to the rack and then... MISS the lay-up seemingly every time. I can't tell you how many lay-ups he missed. Plus he was not too impressive in the assist department either. I was really worried about next season as I figured Collison would go pro and then who would run the point?
Well, fast forward one season and the dude is LEADING the team in assists (5.0/game) and finishing drives with SportsCenter quality. He has had several SportsCenter worthy dunks this year (links below). Great hops, strong finish and he has good handles this year. Just an AMAZING turn around in one year. The kid is a lefty from Strong Beach (aka: Long Beach) in Cali. I just love it when the SoCal kids stay home and go to Westwood like they are supposed to!
I now can't decide who I would prefer starting, the speedy Collison or the incredibly athletic Westbrook!? Luckily, Coach Howland is smarter than I... he is now starting BOTH of them! I do love Coach Howland. Truly amazing how he has turned the team around. Plus, he really gets the most out of his players. Compared to the cast of the past; Lavin the backstabber, Harrick the crook, the current (or recent) coach of the Iraqi national team before him (Larry Farmer), etc... have to go back to Brown, Cunningham, Bartow and King Wooden before you get someone decent. Really since those 4 coachs UCLA just has not had a decent coach until Howland came aboard. As trivia you may be interested to note my neighbor, G-money, was a video editor/team manager type guy with UCSB back in '86ish and he worked with then UCSB assistant coach... Ben Howland!
Ok, so last year Westbrook was a bad bench player who I hated to see coming into the game. This year I am worried he has progressed so far he may leave early!? Seriously, keep an eye on this guy because he has game. He hit a couple of fall away jumpers this weekend against the Wildcats that reminded me of a guy named Mike who used to play in Chicago. The national media hasn't really paid attention to him yet as he is not yet in ESPN's top 100 NBA prospects but he will be in the top 50 by year end; mark my words!
Last year he average 9 minutes, 3.4 points, .7 assists, .7 turnovers, and .4 steals. This year he is averaging 32.4, 12.0, 5.0, 2.6, and 1.5 steals per game. Plus his shooting is up across the board. As I look at those numbers I realize he was producing at a similar per minute level last year but the thing the numbers don't tell you are how many missed lay-ups, how uncertain he was with the ball and basically just what a liability he was on the floor. He is just a different player now. This year he wants the ball and I am just fine with that! I should point out that when re-hashing this with G-money yesterday on the block he mentioned he had said, at the beginning of the season, that Collison's early season injury was the best thing possible for Westbrook. So true! That playing time really gave him confidence he didn't have last year. A little confidence, a little Coach Howland and a little UCLA magic has combined to produce an incredible player.
So, you heard it here first! Russell Westbrook will be a first round NBA draft pick in a year or two (I hope two).
I can't figure out how to paste a video clip here so go check these out:
Postering big guy from Cal: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6FP0ua5xFw4
Putting WSU in their place: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8g3S1maawYs (watch the whole video to see the double cluth at the end)
A little Love against Stanford: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JoVpjgj6GAo
His MJ like performance isn't yet on YouTube but I bet a few of those shots will make it. Keep your eyes out for him!
peace out.
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