NCAAM: LaVine, 5 players who could have used another year

Zach LaVine: Point Guard/Shooting Guard, UCLA

Draft position: 13th pick, Minnesota Timberwolves

LaVine has all the physical tools to be a great player in the NBA. He’s got everything going, from his athelticism to his jump shot. Guys who can jump and shoot will always have an opportunity in the NBA. I question LaVine’s experience at this point. I watched a lot of UCLA last season, and I don’t remember being wowed by LaVine much. There were the highlight dunks and deep threes, but he didn’t standout for UCLA, like I thought he should. It should be noted that UCLA’s backcourt was stacked. There were three first-round picks out of UCLA’s backcourt, so there wasn’t exactly a lot of room for the freshman to shine among the older guys.

My main concern is that LaVine can disappear and get lost in the flow of the game. A number of times last season I forgot he was on the court for UCLA. That’s never a good sign. Has that ever happened to Russell Westbrook? Of course not, he’s the center of the action. LaVine needs to find it in him to be more consistent and demand the ball. He’s a lights out shooter and great athlete, but you have to wonder if his passiveness will lead to bad habits or an inability to block out the critics.

There’s not really enough of a sample size to make any huge generalizations about LaVine yet. He has the potential to become a Westbrook-type player, but I could also see LaVine going the other way as well. Another year at UCLA would have allowed LaVine to control the backcourt as the floor general and get LaVine used to being the number one or two scoring option on the team, something the Wolves hope he could be in the future.