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UCLA Basketball: TJ Leaf, Lonzo Ball Named to Wooden Award Midseason Top 25

By Mike Regalado

January 8, 2017; Los Angeles, CA, USA; UCLA Bruins guard Lonzo Ball (2) controls the ballagainst the Stanford Cardinal during the second half at Pauley Pavilion. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports
January 8, 2017; Los Angeles, CA, USA; UCLA Bruins guard Lonzo Ball (2) controls the ballagainst the Stanford Cardinal during the second half at Pauley Pavilion. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports /
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The fabulous freshmen of the UCLA Basketball team, TJ Leaf and Lonzo Ball, have made the midseason 25-man list for the Wooden Award.

What a difference freshmen make, especially two that are perceived to be among the 25 best in college basketball at the midway point of the 2016-17 season. That is what UCLA Basketball is experiencing with power forward TJ Leaf and point guard Lonzo Ball who have been named to the Wooden Award midseason Top 25.

Both Leaf and Ball have started a revolution of sorts with the Bruins who have gone from an NCAA Tournament-less 15-17 team to the #4 program in the country.

Bruins fans knew what they were getting with Lonzo Ball. As the top PG in high school last season, Ball led Chino Hills High School to an undefeated season. Aside from a loss on a last-second shot, he has almost duplicated that with UCLA who are near-perfect with a 16-1 record.

This year, Ball is second in the nation in assists per game with 8.0. He is also averaging 14.5 ppg.

Then there is Leaf who exploded onto the scene this year and has drawn comparisons to former Bruin and NBA Champion Kevin Love. It was known that Leaf was going to be a good post player for UCLA, but no one foresaw that he would be this good.

This season Leaf is averaging 17.1 ppg, which is 5th best in the Pac-12 and adding 8.9 rebounds. Leaf has also logged eight double-doubles this season.

Next: UCLA Basketball: Road Sweep Watch 2017

Both Ball and Leaf are showing no signs of slowing down, which means it is possible we see both as finalists at the end of the season. Though that would be great individual achievements, these Bruins may be looking for some other type of hardware by at season’s end. Go Bruins!