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UCLA freshman guard Zach LaVine to enter 2014 NBA Draft

lavine

With UCLA’s season coming to an end Thursday night, the Bruins have already begun the process of determining who will be back for the 2014-15 season and who won’t.

The Wear twins are out of eligibility and it’s been known for quite some time that sophomore point guard Kyle Anderson would be moving on to the next level. And according to a report from Jack Wang of the Los Angeles Daily News, freshman guard Zach LaVine will also be entering the 2014 NBA Draft.

In his lone season at UCLA, LaVine averaged 9.4 points and 2.5 rebounds per game but cooled off some as the season progressed. In UCLA’s 79-68 loss to Florida Thursday night, the 6-foot-5 guard scored five points on 2-for-7 shooting. LaVine reached double figures in ten of UCLA’s 14 games before the start of Pac-12 play, including a 21-point outing in a win over Nevada on November 28.
MORE: The entire list of players entering the 2014 NBA Draft

The comments from both LaVine’s father and godfather (who opined that “every year he spends at UCLA after this one is a waste”) in Wang’s story are eye-opening, with his father stating the following:

“It’s like a marriage,” Paul LaVine said. “If it doesn’t work out, you get a divorce. I don’t blame anybody.”

According to the story LaVine’s camp believed that he should have received more time as the primary ball handler on UCLA’s second unit. Fellow freshman Bryce Alford ended up getting the majority of those opportunities when the Bruins needed to give Anderson a breather.

With Anderson and LaVine on the way out, the next decision of note for UCLA is that of sophomore guard Jordan Adams. If he returns, UCLA will still have a very good perimeter rotation with Adams, Alford and Norman Powell having the most experience and McDonald’s All-American Isaac Hamilton eligible after having to sit out the 2013-14 campaign.

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