Love out to prove self

ORLANDO, Fla. – While Kevin Love looks forward to playing in the NBA, he admits that the journey can sometimes be annoying.

Love just completed a stellar freshman season by leading UCLA to the Final Four and winning the freshman of the year award in the Pacific-10 Conference. He was also a consensus first-team All-American selection. But those gaudy accolades have been replaced with questions about whether he can effectively play power forward in the NBA.

“The knock on him is his athleticism,” said Ryan Blake, NBA assistant director of scouting. “The big question is can he guard his position, not just play that position offensively.”

The opinions about Love’s future in the league range from him being the next David West, who was an all-star this season, to comparisons with Sean May, the pudgy and oft-injured Charlotte forward. NBA mock drafts have him going from as high as third overall to as low as 14th or 15th overall.

The 6-foot-9 forward knows he must prove himself to league decision-makers.

“It’s a little frustrating. I (know) there has been a lot of questions about my athleticism,” Love told reporters at the NBA predraft camp in Orlando this week. “But that’s what I’m here for, to change people’s minds. To prove people wrong and show people that I do have that athleticism and I can play at the next level and succeed.”

Love said it’s important to show that while he’ll never be mistaken for Kevin Garnett in terms of quickness, he’s not the second coming of Darko Milicic either.

“I’m hoping to surprise a lot of people,” Love said. “(I’m) going to have to show that (I) can shoot the outside jump shot, move fast laterally and (show) that I can do some of the things people may not have seen this year.”

To develop more quickness, Love has been working out nearly every day for up to six hours a day for the past six weeks. He said he has shed 15 pounds and hopes to weigh in at around 250 pounds here. Love said the weight loss resulted from a change in eating habits.

One draft evaluator said he thinks league personnel will notice Love’s loss of weight and improved conditioning.

“He’s showing that he’s committed to the NBA by losing weight, getting quicker and gaining strength,” said Chris Monter, editor of the Monter Draft News.

“He’s old school and he knows how to play,” said Walt Perrin, Utah’s director of player personnel.