Grizzlies select Love with fifth pick in 2008 NBA Draft
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Press Conference Audio
The Grizzlies helped solidify its frontcourt as they selected 6-foot-10, 255-pound forward Kevin Love from UCLA with the fifth overall pick in the 2008 NBA Draft Thursday night.
“I'm very excited,” Love said via live chat on NBA.com. “I feel like I can bring a lot to the team. I'm just going to try to come into Memphis and do my best. I'm going to have to be a big Elvis fan now.”
Love averaged 17.5 points and 10.6 rebounds per game as a freshman on his way to Pac-10 Player of the Year and Freshman of the Year honors.
NBA Press Conference“We’re very happy to be in the position of selecting Kevin Love out of UCLA,” Grizzlies General Manager and Vice President of Basketball Operations Chris Wallace said. “He’s a branded college player who has been one of the elite players in his age group since he first picked up a basketball. He brings a wide array of talents to the Grizzlies.”
Love has a solid inside game with good post moves but also has a great touch away from the paint. The former Bruin shot 55.9 percent from the field, including 35.4 percent from beyond the arc.
However, his best asset may be his basketball I.Q., which many around the NBA say is the best of anyone in this year’s draft class.
“He makes simple plays,” Grizzlies Head Coach Marc Iavaroni said. “He’s not flamboyant. He likes contact a lot, which is something that I’ve always respected in my opponents and my teammates. He has a nose for the ball.”
The Grizzlies will be in good shape if Love develops in to the type of player he models his game after.
“Obviously, it would be somebody like Tim Duncan because he wins so much and he’s the big fundamental,” Love said after June 9 workout with the Grizzlies. “Obviously, there won’t be another Tim Duncan for a long time, but just the way he plays the game. He’s really fundamental, but he’s not really ‘athletic’ as people like to say.”
The newest Grizzly follows in the footsteps of his father, Stan, who played professionally from 1971-1975 in both the ABA and NBA.
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