UCLA freshman Kevin Love to turn pro

LOS ANGELES, April 17 (UPI) -- UCLA freshman forward Kevin Love Thursday announced that he will enter this year's NBA draft in June. The declaration has been rumored for a number of weeks.

The 6-foot-10 inch native of Lake Oswego, Ore., led the Bruins with per game averages of 17.5 points and 10.6 rebounds.

He earned First Team all-America honors and was the Pac-10's co-Player of the Year along with fellow freshman O.J. Mayo, the Southern California guard, who already announced his intentions to go pro.

Love was the first Bruin freshman to earn first-team All-America honors and was the third UCLA player in four years to be named the Pac-10 Freshman of the Year.

Thursday, he was joined in his decision by teammate Russell Westbrook, a 6-foot-3 inch sophomore guard from Hawthorne, Calif.

Westbrook, a Third Team all-Pac-10 choice, averaged 12.7 points and 4.3 assists per game and his 1,318 minutes played this season are the most by a Bruin since 1979.

From LA Observed.com
--UCLA lost Kevin Love to the NBA today, which is no surprise. I've seen Love listed anywhere from the No. 5 pick to the No. 20 pick, so the pre-draft workouts will be critical for him. Some have questioned Love's abilities in light of his disappointing performance against Memphis in the Final Four. But Love played remarkably well in the NCAA Tournament before then, and Memphis simply did a phenomenal job of denying him the ball. Love could be better served by developing his game in college for another year or two, but he has a big and wide body, he has good fundamental skills, and in my mind he projects as an above-average NBA power forward.

Russell Westbrook also declared the NBA Draft, and some project him to be taken in the top-10. No one can question Westrbook's athleticism, and he seems like the kind of player who can help a team as a uber-role player. He can play defense, go after the loose ball, and make a big play when he needs to.

The remaining question is whether or not Darren Collison will stay. Collison hurt his draft stock with his putrid performance against Memphis. The Bruins needed him to step up in order to have any chance of beating what we now realized was a better Tigers team. I expect Collison to declare anyways, but don't be surprised if he doesn't hire an agent and chooses to go back to school if he thinks he won't crack the first round. Right now he's fallen from a lottery pick to roughly No. 20 on most draft boards.

So what does all of this mean for UCLA? Well, the Bruins have what some people believe to be the nation's best recruiting class next year, led by Jrue Holliday. If they lose Collison, and possibly Luc Richard Mbah A Moute in addition to Love and Westbrook, then the Bruins will have an awfully young and inexperienced team in 2008-09. Yet, there will still be plenty of talent on the floor, so it shouldn't take too long for Ben Howland's team to be back among the elite in college basketball.

See more at www.collegehoopsnet.com