He is not your average, everyday freshman. He stands at 6-foot-9 and is considered one of the top basketball recruits in the nation. He is taking a speech class and two art classes.
He is Kevin Love.
“I can’t really walk anywhere without anybody noticing me,” Love said. “It’s funny ’cause I don’t really blend in.”
Love, one of the newest members of the UCLA men’s basketball team, a power forward from Lake Oswego, Ore., arrived in Los Angeles in early July. He took summer classes, worked out and adjusted to life in Southern California.
As basketball season approaches, Love is expected to leave a huge impact on the college basketball landscape. He spent part of his summer working out with soon-to-be Pacific-10 Conference opponents in USC’s O.J. Mayo and Oregon’s Bryce Taylor.
It’s not the typical workout situation – seeing future opponents working out together – but Love has developed bonds with both players, whether it’s the constant attention he and Mayo experienced growing up or with Taylor, who Love knew from the time he was recruited by Oregon in eighth, ninth and 10th grade.
“You’re all working mostly for the same goals,” said Love in a telephone interview Friday. “You’re both trying to make it to the league and do whatever you want after that, but when you’re working out you need somebody else great in the gym at some point that has the same drive as you so you can get better.”
The affable Love says he’s ready for the college basketball season. UCLA opens with an exhibition game on Nov. 2 against Azusa Pacific at Pauley Pavilion.
“I’m very excited. I can’t wait,” Love said. “Coach (Ben) Howland is such a great coach and we got a good core of guys that I think we have a shot. We could make it back to the Final Four and also win the national championship if everything goes as planned and we work hard. You also have to have a little bit of luck too.”
Luck can help and so can no longer having to go through the same Florida powerhouse featuring Joakim Noah, Al Horford, Corey Brewer, Taurean Green and Chris Richard – all NBA Draft picks.
UCLA also lacked a low-post scoring presence the last two years, but asked if he’s the answer, Love paused.
“I don’t want to jump the gun and say that I’m the missing link. We got so many good guys on this team,” he said. “I think they could have done it last year and I think they could have done it the year before. It’s just that Florida team was pretty darn good.”
As part of Love’s summer, he played in pick-up games at UCLA where NBA players are regular participants. Love went up against Kevin Garnett, a nearby Malibu resident during the NBA offseason, and the now-Boston Celtic took him aside afterwards and gave him some tips.
“He is one of the top 20, maybe top 15 greatest players ever and he’s probably the biggest freak athlete in the whole NBA, so going against him was great,” Love said.
Overall, Love had to get used to players in the 7-foot range compared to what he was used to with high school players much shorter.
“You just have to adjust a little bit,” he said. “But other than that, I still use my body very well, took them outside, took them to the hoop, everything like that. I just had to show my full arsenal. I couldn’t just stay down low the whole time with those guys.”
Most college freshmen live in the dorms their freshmen year. Love is living separately in his own apartment, partly so he can focus while still enjoying his time at UCLA.
“People are like ‘Oh, you should live out the college life.’ I was like ‘Yeah, I will, but I don’t want those distractions where at 3 or 4 in the morning people are pounding on my door,’” Love said.
Love won the National High School Athlete of the Year award at the ESPYs over the summer. It’s an award that sidelined Portland Trail Blazers center Greg Oden won before going to Ohio State. Oden, of course, is sitting out this season after micro fracture surgery on his right knee.
“I think he’ll bounce back from it because it’s not like he’s a lot older, (as if he was) 30 years old, where his body doesn’t respond as quickly,” Love said. “I think Greg has the athleticism, has the right head on his shoulders and the right people around him that he’ll bounce back, come back and do his thing.”
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Meet UCLA’s big man on campus
Daily Emerald
October 8, 2007
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