A clock winding down doesn’t intimidate Jules Bernard.

The 22-year-old UCLA guard was the last man standing on Wednesday night: Among players in the NBA draft pool with remaining college eligibility, Bernard came six minutes from the deadline to return to school – but decided to throw in for his pro prospects.

His last workout before his decision? In his own backyard with the Lakers.

“Just growing up and watching Kobe, watching Showtime Lakers – well that’s a little bit before my time,” Bernard chuckled on Wednesday morning. “But growing up watching videos of that and watching Kobe, my favorite player. It’s amazing to put on the jersey and work out for this team, and I’m someone who is about winning.”

Bernard was one of the players who helped put UCLA basketball back on the national stage, helping propel them to a Final Four run in the 2021 NCAA Tournament that surpassed even the most optimistic expectations for the 11th-seeded Bruins. While you’re unlikely to find Bernard – a 6-foot-7 guard who averaged 12.8 points and 4.7 rebounds last season – too high on any draft prospect list, he hopes to surprise people as a pro in the same way he did in college.

Though he’s on the older side, there’s a lot to like about Bernard’s size and athleticism after playing a largely backcourt role in Westwood. He did not receive an invite to the NBA Combine last month, but he’s had several NBA team workouts and did get invited to the G League Elite Camp last month – perhaps a fortuitous sign for the L.A. native who found ways to grow during his years at UCLA.

He’s always going to have some sentimentality for the Lakers, who were his childhood favorite team. But in terms of setting up what he hopes to be a longer NBA career, he also sees the value of potentially landing with a franchise that has veteran savvy – as a four-year college player, Bernard believes he has better wherewithal and basketball IQ than younger prospects and could be ready to contribute earlier.

“I feel like I have the ability and the mindset and the experience to come in and affect the game right away,” he said. “Obviously there are a lot of great players here. For me, just knowing how to mesh and fit in a certain – as a piece of this team or any team, I feel like I have that mindset coming in on whatever team, and I feel like coming into a situation with a lot of older guys, for me I feel like being a sponge will help me too.”

The mop-headed Bernard is no stranger to adapting to unforeseen challenges. At Windward High in L.A., he went through a string of head coaches and teammates, adapting to become a dangerous scorer and tremendous rebounder as a junior and senior. He stayed with the Bruins through a coaching change as well, sticking around to play for Mick Cronin, who helped facilitate his growth over the course of his four-year career.

It seems Bernard recognized a drive in his head coach, forging a connection.

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“It helped me a lot, and (Cronin) understands what it takes to win,” he said. “For me, that’s something that I feel like translates (to the NBA): What gets you on the court? What helps your team win? And then for me, that’s playing extremely hard, playing defense, knocking down shots, taking care of the ball, learning how to adjust in your situations.”

USC’s Drew Peterson made his decision earlier in the day, choosing to return to the Trojans along with teammate Boogie Ellis for another run at the NCAA level. But Peterson cut his teeth during a number of workouts, including with the Lakers over the weekend, attempting to establish credibility as a big guard/wing at the next level after shooting 41% from 3-point range for USC last season.

When Peterson comes back to the pro game in a year, he’ll be 23 – and looking for franchises like the Lakers who have succeeded at molding older prospects into useful role players such as Alex Caruso and Austin Reeves.

“It’s cool to see that,” he said. “I think the important thing for me is to get into a program, a team that has experience with developing guys like me.”