In the days leading up to the 2008 NBA Draft, NYKnicks.com will profile many of the top players available. We offer these profiles for fans to familiarize themselves with some of the biggest names in the draft. A player's inclusion in this series of articles is based purely on his rankings in the scouting services and mainstream media and does not necessarily reflect the Knicks organization's preferences for the June 26 Draft at the WaMu Theater at Madison Square Garden.

We continue our series with a profile of UCLA guard Russell Westbrook, a projected first-round pick, according to major scouting services and numerous publications.

Few college basketball players took greater strides in improving their game over the last two seasons than UCLA point guard Russell Westbrook.

After averaging 3.4 points, 0.8 rebounds, 0.7 assists and 0.4 steals in 9.0 minutes per game as a freshman, Westbrook established himself as a leader of a top-ranked Bruins team, averaging 12.7 points, 4.3 assists, 3.9 rebounds and 1.6 steals in 33.8 minutes per game as a sophomore.

His quick growth, and stated desire to continue to improving, has caught the eyes of NBA scouts.

Scouts say Westbrook is an electric combo guard -- a dynamic scorer who is equally adept at finding the open man. He is recognized for having a sweet stroke and has shown an ability to make shots from anywhere on the court, shooting 46.5 percent from the field last season. He is also known for slashing to the basket, and given his explosive leaping ability, can be a great finisher around the rim.

A natural athlete, Westbrook is dangerous in transition and scored most of his points off the break, where he was able to control and push the tempo. He is also a selfless player with a smart shot selection, just as happy to dish off to an open teammate as he is scoring himself.

In addition to his strong offensive numbers, Westbrook is widely recognized by draft pundits as one of the best defensive players available this year -- a tenacious ballhawk who likes to pressure his opponent. His defensive ability was recognized last season, whe he was named the 2007-08 Pac-10 Defensive Player of the Year, shutting down the likes of high-scoring conference foes O.J. Mayo and Jerryd Bayless.

Westbrook is also anything but shy on the court. A charismatic 19-year old, he feeds off of crowd energy, and was a UCLA fan favorite with his nonstop hustle and dramatic dunks.

Furthermore, despite playing with reckless abandon, the 6-foot-3, 187-pounder is as durable as they come, having his school's single-season record for total minutes played by logging 1,318 minutes as a sophomore.

Westbrook had a major role in getting UCLA into the 2008 NCAA Final Four. He posted his first career double-double in a Sweet Sixteen match againstwith Western Kentucky, recording 13 points and a career-high 11 boards. In the Bruins' Final Four loss to Memphis, Westbrook was truly on top of his game, scoring a career-high 22 points against Tigers stars Derrick Rose and Chris Douglas-Roberts.

Scouts say the biggest concern with Westbrook is his ball-handling ability. Sharing the backcourt with Darren Collison, he was often asked to play off the ball, which limited the amount of touches he had running the offense.

Even without running the point full-time, Westbrook still managed to tally an impressive 4.3 assists per game. That sort of production, combined with court vision and passing skills that earn rave reviews from scouts, make it possible for many draft pundits to project Westbrook as a potentially great court general at the NBA level.