UCLA sophomore forward Tyler Honeycutt will declare for the 2011 NBA draft, he announced by teleconference on Monday afternoon.
Honeycutt also said he would hire an agent, eliminating his future college eligibility.
Coach Ben Howland previously said that he thinks anybody projected to go in the lottery portion of the draft ““ the top 14 selections ““ should declare early.
The website NBADraft.net currently has Honeycutt predicted to be selected as the No. 20 pick, out of the lottery but still in the first round. First-round picks are guaranteed contracts according to the NBA draft salary scale, while second-round picks are not.
Honeycutt is the latest in a series of Bruins to make early-entry decisions under Howland, including Jrue Holiday in 2009, Kevin Love, Russell Westbrook and Luc Richard Mbah a Moute in 2008, Arron Afflalo in 2007 and Jordan Farmar in 2006. All six of those players are still in the NBA.
Honeycutt averaged 12.8 points, 7.2 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 2.0 blocks per game this season, and was named to the All-Pac-10 first team.