UCLA basketball freshman point guard Jaylen Hands, who is testing the waters of the NBA Draft, has been invited to the NBA Combine next week in Chicago.
UCLA basketball‘s Jaylen Hands believes he is good enough to make the leap to the pros as he has put his name into the NBA Draft, though he understands that there will be a lot of competition in trying to do so.
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Hands will be “testing the waters” of the draft, mostly to get a feel of what NBA teams think about his game. In doing so, he will get analysis of his strengths and weaknesses and should get a lot of feedback next week as he has been invited to participate in the NBA Combine which begins on May 16.
#UCLA freshman PG Jaylen Hands has received an invite to the NBA Draft Combine in Chicago, per source. Hands has not hired an agent yet, meaning he can still elect to return to school for his sophomore season.
— Jordan Schultz (@Schultz_Report) May 3, 2018
Hands came into UCLA as a highly touted 5-star recruits out of Mater Dei High School (Santa Ana, CA). He was expected to carry the torch for the Bruins after Aaron Holiday moved on from Westwood, but there was also speculation that the young floor general had the talent to be a one-and-done.
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Last season, Hands had decent season for a freshman, but also had some flaws in his game, the most glaring being turnovers and inconsistency in keeping the offense flowing. But like most freshmen, his game improved as the season went on. He finished the year as the 4th best scorer on the team (9.9 ppg) and was second in total assists (81) behind team leading Aaron Holiday.
Many opine that Hands should stay one more year at UCLA to improve his skill set. The upside here is that he would be “The Guy” in Westwood and would have a ton of help from the #6 recruiting class in the nation. With experience leading an elite college team, he would show NBA teams that he could do the same thing in the pros the following year.
Still, Hands has the skills that some teams could utilize. The downside to him jumping to the Association, mostly from UCLA’s standpoint, is that the Bruins would be left with only one point guard, in-coming freshman Tyger Campbell, a 4-star rated point guard by 247Sports.
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It has also been said that there is some friction between Hands and UCLA head coach Steve Alford. Regardless of what the situation is, for the benefit of the team, Alford should try and convince Hands to return. If not, it could be a bit rocky for the Bruins in 2018-19.