UCLA Basketball Player Previews: Swingman Tyler Lamb

The Bruins come into the 2012-2013 campaign with high expectations and a boat load of momentum.

One of the key role players for the Bruins will be junior guard, Tyler Lamb. I’m a big fan of his, this young fella is a 3-tool player. He can score, dish out assists and rebound for his size. Last year, he averaged 9.0

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points per, 1.7 steals per, 2.8 assist per and 3.6 rebounds per while shooting a below average 40%. Those numbers aren’t going to jump out at you, but he certainly does the small things. Tyler Lamb hustles, and that’s what I really like about him, he never quits on a play and he dives for loose balls. Will he be overshadowed by Shabazz, Kyle Anderson and Jordan Adams? Yes, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t pay close attention to him.

Tyler does have room for improvement, he shot a dismal 67% from the charity stripe and his FG% was 40%, if he can up his FT percentage to about 75-80% will be great, making free-throws has always been an achilles heel for UCLA, they must improve. As is field goal percentage is concerned, it’s all about taking smart shots that are in your range. Lamb could has the potential to be deadly coming off of screens because he’s on point from mid range.

Lamb is great on the defensive end, he racks up his fair share of steals, he’s a good help defender and he’s a great on-ball defender. He’s the key guy defensively, the defensive stopper. It all starts with defense, that’s why UCLA is so high on Lamb. I love his potential, he has a very high ceiling. He should have his best year as a Bruin this season.