Kentucky sophomore point guard Tyler Ulis has declared for the NBA Draft and will sign with an agent.
The 5-foot-9 Ulis is projected as the No. 20 pick by DraftExpress.com.
His Kentucky teammates Jamal Murray (No. 6) and Skal Labissiere (No. 10) have already declared.
“First and foremost, I want to thank God,” Ulis said. “Without Him blessing me with the talent and the opportunity to play the game every day, none of this would be possible. To my family and friends, thank you for the love, support and sacrifices you’ve all made for me. Also, thank you for pushing and influencing me to become the best player I can be and always having faith in my game. To Coach Cal, Uncle KP (Kenny Payne) and the entire coaching staff, thank you for your tireless dedication and commitment to teach us to succeed on and off the court.
“With that being said, I’m ready to take on the challenge of playing at the next level and have declared for the NBA Draft. I will be hiring an agent.
“To all the fans, thank you for supporting me and embracing me from the moment I stepped on the floor. Your enthusiasm and spirit carried me over the last two seasons and you all make it even harder for me to leave.”
The SEC Player of the Year, Ulis averaged 17.3 points, 7.0 assists and 3.0 rebounds for the Wildcats, who lost to Indiana in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
Said Kentucky coach John Calipari: “I’ve coached a lot of great leaders and great point guards in all my years of coaching. Tyler Ulis is the best floor general that I’ve ever coached. What I loved is he grew into that position. You couldn’t speed him up and you couldn’t slow him down unless he wanted to do one of those things. He coached the team this season as much as I did, and I’m proud to say that.
“Tyler did it on both ends of the floor. Being named the defensive player of the year in the SEC is quite an honor if you look at the past award winners. On the offensive end, not only was he efficient, he accounted for 17.3 points and 7.0 assists per game.
Kentucky adds McDonald’s All-American guards De’Aaron Fox and Malik Monk — both projected first-round picks in 2017 — while freshman guard Isaiah Briscoe of Roselle (N.J.) Catholic has yet to announce his plans. Calipari previously said all of his players would test the NBA Draft waters.
Isaiah Thomas, another 5-9 guard who was picked at No. 60 in the 2011 Draft, told SNY.tv earlier this year there’s a place for Ulis in the NBA despite people sleeping on him.
“They probably will, they sleep on all small guards,” Thomas said of Ulis. “But whenever you get that opportunity and that chance, you gotta take full advantage of it.”
Asked if he thinks Ulis’ game will translate to the NBA Thomas said he has no doubt.
“For small guys, I think it translates even better in the NBA than college just because the floor’s more open,” he said. “It gives you more space to create and if he could driblbe-drive and shoot the ball, l think he’s going to have a spot in this league.”
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