Hoops Habit
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2017 NBA Mock Draft: An Early Look Ahead

By Maxwell Ogden

MAPLE GROVE, MN- MAY 23: Harry Giles #1 from Team CP3 and Wesleyan Christian Academy during Session Four of the Nike EYBL on May 23, 2015 at Maple Grove Community Gym in Maple Grove, Minnesota. (Photo by Brace Hemmelgarn/Getty Images)
MAPLE GROVE, MN- MAY 23: Harry Giles #1 from Team CP3 and Wesleyan Christian Academy during Session Four of the Nike EYBL on May 23, 2015 at Maple Grove Community Gym in Maple Grove, Minnesota. (Photo by Brace Hemmelgarn/Getty Images) /
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CHICAGO, IL – MARCH 30: Lonzo Ball #2 of the West team plays against the East team during the 2016 McDonalds’s All American Game on March 30, 2016 at the United Center in Chicago, Illinois. The West won 114-107. (Photo by David Banks/Getty Images)
CHICAGO, IL – MARCH 30: Lonzo Ball #2 of the West team plays against the East team during the 2016 McDonalds’s All American Game on March 30, 2016 at the United Center in Chicago, Illinois. The West won 114-107. (Photo by David Banks/Getty Images) /

15. Lonzo Ball, UCLA Bruins

Position: Point Guard
Age: 18 (10/27/1997)
Height, Weight, Wingspan: 6’4.5″, 162 pounds, 6’7″
Slash Line: N/A
Season Averages: N/A

The UCLA Bruins nabbed the type of point guard who can take the team back to its most recent glory years. Following in the footsteps of Darren Collison and Russell Westbrook, Lonzo Ball is a star playmaker who chose the bright lights of Los Angeles.

Much like Collison and Westbrook, Ball is also a well-rounded player who offers a bit of everything on both ends of the floor.

Ball has great size for a point guard at just under 6’5″ with a near 6’7″ wingspan. He’s not an explosive athlete like Westbrook, but he moves well in the open court and is capable of finishing above the rim.

Most of what Ball does is based on natural talent instead of fundamental polish, but that ability is present and intriguing.

Ball is an outstanding passer who can create angles that most point guards simply don’t see. He also has tremendous defensive potential due to his size, length, and lateral quickness, which is coupled with his tenacity on the boards—strengths that Steve Alford knows how to utilize.

Ball has the potential to become a legitimate triple-double threat and a household name in the Pac-12.

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