[kicker16Participant]

Has anyone else noticed the trend of UCLA point guards being mediocre in college and then being suddenly awesome in the nba? Russell Westbrook, Jrue Holiday, Darren Collison all solid college players but no one could have expected them to play as well as they have. 

[sheltwon3Participant]

Macolm Lee could move up in the draft because of this.  He may start looking like a better pro than his college years and may be tempting for teams looking for a point or shooting guard.  I think Lee could be on the level of Stuckney.  Stuckney is pretty good but is stuck on a terrible Pistons team.

[mikeyvthedonParticipant]

Had a mediocre freshman year, as did the other two, but Darren Collison and Russell Westbrook played on a couple Final 4 teams. Darren was thought to be a lottery pick after his sophomore year, and Russell became one after his. I do not think this is a recurring trend of anything other than Ben Howland developing some solid players over time. Only Jrue was a top recruit, the other two just had world class speed and athleticism. I really do not think the UCLA players entering the draft this year at the supposed PG position are in the category of those three aforementioned players. 

[inukawaii8Participant]

 all the UCLA point guards werent considered "mediocre".. if they were, they wouldn’t all get drafted in the first round. i think many people, esp from socal, know that ben howland’s system does not inflate player’s stat. his focus is more on defense rather than offense, and its more about the system. 

[iminipandaParticipant]

The new PG U? 

[llperez]

I thinkalcolm can carve out a nice NBA career, but he is not quite on the level of the other ucla PGA. Not even better than farmar.

[OnionsParticipant]

It’s going to end when Larry Drew takes over for a season.

 

And I don’t know if they weren’t hyped. I LOVED Jrue out of college. Collison was nice to, but he was one of those 4 years players whose names came up so much that he became old.

[RUDEBOY_Participant]

Collison was considered to be a lottery pick after his sophomore season,scouts were comparing him to Kevin Johnson….But his play slipped a little his junior year.. Sharing the backcourt with Westbrook forced him to learn how to play off the ball…

[mikeyvthedonParticipant]

His senior year was so-so. Also, his getting DESTROYED by Derrick Rose in the Final Four during that junior year really dropped his stock. Russell had a nice game, but Rose BEASTED on Collison and outscored him 23-2. Collison also shot 1-9, had 5 TO’s and fouled out. Needless to say, that game made people re-evaluate Collison. As you can see with the Bulls/Pacers series, the Rose v. Collison thing is still in Rose’s favor to this very day, lol. 

[surveParticipant]

I agree with some of the posts here, the players were good but all of them were under the radar or very underated.  None of them were mediocre in terms of talent.  Collison, like mentioned was an old name who didnt really dominate at the college level but his world class speed was made for the NBA.  Westbrook wasnt on the radar until Collison went out with the injury.  His rise in the draft was meteoric and he was a late bloomer I think.  I think he only averaged like 12pts and 4asts, now in the NBA he is posting twice those numbers.  Holiday was rated by most the top player in high school and had the age minimum not been in place his stock wouldve been higher coming out, somewhat like Harrison Barnes.  Not to mention Barnes is underated like Holiday due to his adjustment to the college game.  Holiday would always be a better NBA player than a college player.

[cabbycabParticipant]

 Totally agree with mikeyv.  Rose made Collison look like a junior high school scrub during that game.  I actually felt bad for him…..and wrote him off after that game.  Collison has surprised me with his game in the league.  I did not see that coming from him. 

[JNixonParticipant]

"Also, his getting DESTROYED by Derrick Rose in the Final Four during that junior year really dropped his stock."

Derrick Rose raped him that game. I’ll never forget that. Collison had 4 fouls with at least 3 minutes in the game, and Derrick Rose was walking the ball up court and out of nowhere Collison charged and intentionally fouled Rose and fouled out. It seemed as if he fouled him to give up and take himself out of the game lol.

But yeah, Malcolm Lee will be a good player in the NBA. He’s not Russell Westbrook’s clone in terms of athleticism, but he’s not that far off at all, especially in terms of length. They have the exact same build and style of play. He does possibly have a better shot than Westbrook at the same stage though. I doubt he has the impact Westbrook has had though. Lee will have no problem finding his way to the rim though, so he will be good.

[kobyzParticipant]

Macolm Lee, his game remind me the formar Toronto Raptors guard – Alvin Williams!

[cward23Participant]

Ever since that first game Rose has played worst each game after what the hell, i had them sweeping the Pacers. Oh well they will win it anyway but they haven’t looked good doing it.

Everywhere i’ve read scouts think UCLA system’s hold the PG’s back which is why they are higher on Lee than people think. Personally i haven’t had a chance to really watch him because we don’t get a bunch of PAC-10 games in South Carolina

[FastAndFuriousParticipant]

I swear Westbrook has suprised me the most though, I always remember just watching him sometimes during his freshman year and just being like this guy is ATHLETIC as hell, but so wild and out of control, and when the tournament rolled around he didn’t even play much, I just always thought he would be a spark off the bench type player.

Then he came back his sophomore season still out of control but you could tell he really worked on his game and took it to another level, then i’m like ok he might go to the NBA his after his Junior/Senior year, then the middle of the season and the NCAA tournament he just starts beasting and goes #4 pick in the draft and the rest is history.

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