Looney's agent downplays concerns over hip injury ahead of draft
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Kevon Looney's troublesome hip has often been touted as a major factor in the UCLA big man's slide down mock drafts and big boards, but his agent is doing his best damage control with just hours until Thursday's draft.
Todd Ramasar told CBS Sports' Sam Vecenie that Looney, who was bothered by a hip injury heading into his freshman season with the Bruins, has been cleared by a hip specialist and that the 19-year-old "finished every single workout" he took part in.
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In addition, Vecenie reports that UCLA confirmed Looney, who suited up for all of the team's 36 games this season, did not miss a single practice due to injury.
This is all in response to a rather concerning report from ESPN's Chad Ford earlier in the day, as Ford wrote of Looney, "While his hip injury is fixable, he probably misses the season."
That's obviously quite the contrast compared to the picture Ramasar is painting.
Looney averaged 11.6 points and 9.2 rebounds in his lone collegiate season, knocking down a stellar 41.5 percent of his 3-point attempts. That shooting and his experience as a high school point guard give him the type of floor-stretching, playmaking skillset from the power forward position that modern NBA teams crave.
It's no wonder, then, that he was once seen as a potential top-10 pick.