kevin-love.jpg The Draft Review - The Draft Review memphis The Draft Review - The Draft Review

roots The Draft Review - The Draft ReviewFather: Stan Love


Article: Kevin Love = Larry Bird...Heresy!

Strengths: Fundamentally, Love may be the most complete player in the nation … His feel for the game and overall basketball IQ are very impressive; tends to make several adjustments during the course of a game … Owns exceptional post footwork that allows him to maintain his balance while quickly executing moves … Court vision and passing ability are extremely rare for a player at his position … This ability allows him to effectively play anywhere in a half court set, either in the high post or low post … Tremendous rebounder in his area (even in traffic) thanks to his boxing out and ball location skills … Although Love lacks shot blocking skills he is an effective post defender, as he denies post position and does a great job of keeping his hands high and using his body to disrupt players … Love is dangerous as a defensive rebounder as well as a proficient outlet passer who can really ignite fast break opportunities for his team … Back to basket moves are complete and have a wide variety, from pump and head shakes, up and unders, jump hooks and turnaround shots … Understands how to establish position in the post, and most importantly, get his body wide enough to allow a big target for his teammates to pass into … Owns extremely soft hands; rarely does he bobble passes thrown into him … Does a great job of drawing fouls to get to the free throw line where he is a great shooter … Has shown the ability to shoot from behind the three point line … Possesses solid upper body strength to finish after contact occurs …

Weakness: Athletically, Love lacks explosiveness and good foot speed … This really works against him when it comes to shot blocking or running the floor … Average rebounder out of his area due to his average mobility … Has problems getting his shot off against players with length … Tends to get frustrated a bit when he doesn’t get his touches, but could be due to the need to adjust from being his team’s main priority back in high school … Has shown touch from the perimeter but hasn’t fully utilized this ability shooting from mid-range … Could struggle to keep up with a team whose coaching philosophy is a fast break offense – Love is clearly better suited for a half court set … Conditioning will play a big factor in his development - while he isn’t lazy, Love should concentrate on making the most of his body through nutrition and weight lifting … Defensively, his lateral quickness must improve, especially in situations where he has a power forward who can put the ball on the floor … From a potential standpoint, how much more Love can improve is questionable - he’s fundamentally developed and intelligent, but his physical athleticism could hamper him to a degree on the next level …

Matthew Maurer - 1/14/08

Statistics

SEASONS

GP

FG%

3PT%

FT%

SPG

BPG

RPG

APG

PPG

2007-08 UCLA

39

55.9

35.4

76.7

0.7

1.4

10.6

1.9

17.5

DIV I Totals

39

55.9

35.4

76.7

0.7

1.4

10.6

1.9

17.5

 

Add comment

Submit