RealGM

The Lakers selected West Virginia underclassman Devin Ebanks with the 43rd overall pick of the 2010 NBA Draft last Thursday night.

We had a chance to speak with Ebanks over the weekend to chat about what he hopes to bring to L.A., which Lakers player he plays like, what kind of music he listens to, the fact that he played AAU ball with the Lakers’ other second round pick and more.

Below is the transcript of our call:

On being from Queens, like Ron Artest and Lamar Odom:
Ebanks: I don’t live too far from Ron, and I see Lamar around when he comes back home. I’m excited for the opportunity to play with those guys.

On what he can bring to the Lakers:
Ebanks: I bring athleticism and defense. If you want to be a rookie in this league and get time, you have to play defense, and I have some scoring ability as well.

On the reaction from his family after he was drafted:
Ebanks: Everybody was just happy that I have a chance to compete for a championship. They were just happy that I got picked.

On Artest and Kobe Bryant:
Ebanks: I love to watch Ron Artest … I like the way he plays, and his game is a little similar to how I try to play on the defensive end. And definitely being able to play with Kobe is a dream come true.

On developing at West Virginia:
Ebanks: I have to give all the credit to my coach, Bob Huggins, as far as expanding my game when I got there. He got me playing the right way and ready for the NBA both defensively and offensively. Coach Huggins especially brought out my defense and rebounding.

On the depth of L.A.’s frontcourt:
Ebanks: Especially with guys that have won championships, been in tough situations, have veterans there, it’s just a great spot for me to come in and learn how to win at an early age.

On being a teammate:
Ebanks: I’m a big believer in being close with your teammates. You have to have a good relationship off the court to have the best relationship on the court, and what better team to join than the Lakers who seem like they gel so well right now.

On what music he listens to:
Ebanks: Drake, Young Jeezy … lots of (artists). Mostly hip hop, but some R&B too. I let someone put the music on my iPod for me so I’ll have to advance with that.

On his meal plan at college:
Ebanks: Well you’re talking to a college kid, so I didn’t eat that good, man. Just Burger King and McDonalds and stuff … that was my meal plan at college, I didn’t really eat good.

On himself:
Ebanks: I’m a really laid back, low key kind of guy. I’m fun to be around. I’m also a gym rat, just got back from the gym about an hour ago.

On playing with Derrick Caracter in AAU:
Ebanks: Yeah, me and DC actually played together in AAU basketball, so it’s great to have him out there as well. To have somebody I knew growing up is definitely key.

Antihero24 wrote:My family is from WV and most of my cousins went to WVU and I followed their bball team all year. I would not at all be surprised if he made the team. It's unfortunate that there's a spot for Luke Walton and potentially no spot for Ebanks, but that's another issue. Da'Sean Butler was WVU's Kobe Bryant. The guy had a handful of game winners against good competition in big games, but Ebanks was the highly touted guy coming out of HS.

He was projected to go a lot earlier and the bar for him was a lot higher but his offensive game was inconsistent at times. He has all the skills and all the tools and all the hustle in the world, but his shot would not be there at times...a lot like Ron Ron this year. When WVU upset Kentucky, it was Ebanks' job to guard John Wall -- a tall order for many NBA players in this league. He held Wall to 39% shooting and 19 points on 18 shots. As you know, WVU went on to win.

Da'Sean Butler was the best player on the team, but Ebanks' ceiling is higher IMO. His defense and rebounding is better than Butler's and he is more athletic. Butler was just clutch and his shot and offensive game was much more developed, but if Ebanks can improve his offense he'll find a spot on a team, if not this one.