Trevor Ariza plans to announce today that he will make himself
eligible for the NBA Draft, a source within the UCLA athletic
department said late Monday.
It is unknown whether or not the freshman forward will sign with
an agent.
Ariza told reporters at a spring football practice Monday
afternoon at Spaulding Field that he had no knowledge of a Fox
Sports Net report which aired this past Wednesday, indicating that
he would declare for the NBA Draft later that week. Ariza did say
that he met with coach Ben Howland earlier in the day, but declined
to discuss the details of the meeting.
UCLA spokesman Bill Bennett said last week that Ariza had
weighed his options over spring break, but decided to return to
Westwood next season.
Calls placed to Bennett’s cell phone were not returned,
and attempts to reach Ariza and Howland Monday night were not
successful.
Speculation about Ariza’s future began when he publicly
acknowledged he was considering having his NBA prospects evaluated
after the Bruins’ loss to Oregon in early March.
Ariza said Monday he had not even thought about filing paperwork
with the NBA to get an evaluation of his draft status. He would
have until May 10 to notify the league that he was officially
entering the draft.
The Bruins’ third-leading scorer and second-leading
rebounder this past season, Ariza, who made the All-Pac-10 Freshman
team, is currently enrolled in classes for spring quarter and has
participated in the Bruins’ spring workout schedule with his
teammates thus far.
Though he weighs just 200 pounds, the 6-foot-8 Ariza is
generally considered UCLA’s best NBA prospect. He averaged
11.6 points and 6.5 rebounds per game this past season, and is
UCLA’s only returning starter at the forward position.
Another Bruin, 6-7 swingman Dijon Thompson, announced Wednesday
that he will make himself eligible for the NBA Draft, but will not
sign with an agent.
With reports from Diamond Leung , Bruin sports senior staff
and Bruce Tran, Bruin sports staff.