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UCLA Basketball: Former Bruin TJ Leaf has highlights of his own

By Mike Regalado

Feb 9, 2017; Los Angeles, CA, USA; UCLA Bruins forward TJ Leaf (22) celebrates during the second half against the Oregon Ducks at Pauley Pavilion. The UCLA Bruins won 82-79. Mandatory Credit: Kelvin Kuo-USA TODAY Sports
Feb 9, 2017; Los Angeles, CA, USA; UCLA Bruins forward TJ Leaf (22) celebrates during the second half against the Oregon Ducks at Pauley Pavilion. The UCLA Bruins won 82-79. Mandatory Credit: Kelvin Kuo-USA TODAY Sports /
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The UCLA Basketball team had a lot of talent during the 2016-17 season, which included a scoring machine in power forward TJ Leaf who looks to be an NBA Draft first rounder.

As we get closer to the NBA Draft, there is a lot of attention surrounding the UCLA Basketball team, and why not? The Bruins had a star-ladden squad that returned to the Sweet 16 after a 15-17 finish in 2015-16.

Part of the reason for this was due to an agile big man that blew Bruins fan’s minds.

That would be freshman phenom, power forward TJ Leaf who led the Bruins in scoring last season. With 16.3 points per game and 8.2 rebounds (2nd on the Bruins), Leaf was one of the more important pieces to UCLA’s success.

Related Story: The UCLA Basketball All-Time Team

With the attention other Bruins were getting, Leaf flew under the radar to start the season, but things changed once he got into his rhythm as he became one of the Bruins’ deadlier offensive weapons.

He scored in double-digits in 32 games, had ten 20-point games and a season high 32-points against Washington State. Leaf was also 2nd in the Pac-12 in field goal percentage (61.7) and shot an impressive 27-for-58 (46.6%) from beyond the arc.

With that, we wanted to remind Bruins fans (and any scouts reading this), that TJ Leaf is an amazing offensive threat that will benefit any team that decides to pick him up.

Next: Will UCLA Basketball's defense improve in 2017-18?

Amazing. Good luck in the NBA Draft, TJ!