By: David Wang

Jaime Jaquez Jr., one of UCLA’s former forwards, and one of the most beloved basketball players in the school’s history has recently graduated. Now he’s headed to the NBA draft and starting a new career.

4 years ago, Jaquez was your average basketball player, fighting for TV minutes like all the other ambitious (wannabe) stars. Now he’s back to square 1 from cloud 9. But, Jaquez is confident that he has this. History has proven that he did it once, and he believes he can do it twice.

And he’s willing to do a lot for his team. Nine potential teams he could join, the Clippers included, have brought him in for workouts. He’s got a unique brand of grit, an expanding skill set and savvy that could be attractive during the June 22 pick. According to the Times, those teams have given very good feedback.

He’s extremely confident, but that confidence isn’t misplaced. He’s been stuck for 4 years at a place where people like to bolt for the NBA as soon as they can. That’s prepared him for the pick. During his senior season at the Pac-12, he won the player of the year award. He has also led UCLA to a Final 4 and 2 Sweet 16s, finishing with 1,802 total points, landing him in 8th place on UCLA’s all-time scoring list.

Jaquez says that he feels as if he’s finally ready for the NBA, with all the work that he did at UCLA finally paying off. The years there provided him with an enhanced feel for basketball, making his presence felt and leaving him more vocal on defense. His ability to score from anywhere within 25 feet is matched by his willingness to pass, relentless rebounding and strong defense.

An NBA executive that spectated his workout said he’s dependable, whichh makes him more attractive for teams, who consistently praise Jaquez for playing hard, competing well, making sound decisions with the ball and good shooting. Plus, he won almost all the drills. The executive, who remained anonymous, envisioned Jaquez placing anywhere from No. 17 to No. 25 in the first round.

In the first round, the Lakers get the No. 17 selection, the Clippers final pick or No. 30 overall and Indiana has 3 picks, No. 26, No. 29 and another one–all possible spots for Jaquez.

For much of the past month, Jaquez has been crisscrossing the U.S., hoping to place as the highest UCLA pick since Lonzo Ball was No. 2 and TJ Leaf was No. 18 in the 2017 batch.

But, all that aside, Jaquez is special because he’s the first UCLA player drafted with an undergraduate degree since Thomas Welsh in 2018, which is rather surprising. If he’s picked in Round 1, he’ll be the highest Bruin senior since Darren Collison in 2009.

Wherever he chooses to go next, it’ll be a long, hard journey for him. He’s going to need to make many introductions before he gets a new fan base again. But Jaquez can’t wait it. “I’m going to be back at the bottom,” he says. “I’m a rookie now.” And whatever comes next, he’s ready for it.