NCAA Basketball: 10 best players from state of California of last decade

2. Lonzo Ball – UCLA

An elite prospect from Chino Hills, Ball was a 6’6 guard who committed to UCLA and Steve Alford, playing just a single season with the Bruins. Unlike his two younger brothers, he actually played college basketball and was a force in that one season at UCLA before eventually starring in the NBA.

Ball’s numbers were excellent, averaging 14.6 points, 7.6 assists, and 6.0 rebounds per game. He flirted with a triple-double in his first career game, while later putting up 18 points, 9 assists, and 7 rebounds in a second-round NCAA Tournament win over Cincinnati. Ball also led the entire nation in assists and led the Pac-12 in 2-point field goal percentage, becoming a major weapon in the mid-range.

Among the honors Ball received was being named First Team All-American as a freshman, while also Pac-12 Rookie of the Year and All-Pac-12 First Team. He was certainly the best ball distributor in the nation and played a major role in UCLA’s run to the Sweet Sixteen. Later the second pick of the NBA Draft by the Los Angeles Lakers, Ball has starred in the NBA for the last five seasons, currently with the Chicago Bulls. This highly-regarded prospect really shined on college basketball’s big stage, doing some fantastic things in the Pac-12 for this historic Bruins program.