TJ Leaf Injures Ankle vs. Washington

UCLA forward TJ Leaf left Wednesday's game against the Washington Huskies after suffering a sprained left ankle, according to the Los Angeles Times' Ben Bolch.

A 6'10" stretch power forward who has drawn some comparisons to former Bruins star Kevin Love, Leaf has established himself as one of the best freshmen in the country. He is averaging 16.8 points, 8.7 rebounds and 2.6 assists per game while shooting 63.1 percent from the floor and 46.2 percent from beyond the arc.

"Anything he does, he wants to be the best at it, especially basketball—he tries to outwork everybody," Troy Leaf, TJ's brother, told Matt Cummings of the Daily Bruin. "God's gift to him obviously was a 6-foot-10 frame, and not for one second do I think he's wasted an ounce of that because he works his butt off."

Leaf and co-star Lonzo Ball have UCLA off to a 26-3 record, which included an impressive nonconference win over Kentucky. The Bruins' success against elite Pac-12 teams has been a little shaky, and losing Leaf with the conference tournament approaching will only make things harder for the top-heavy roster.

UCLA gets a majority of its scoring from six players on the team who average double figures.