Young declares for NBA Draft

FAYETTEVILLE - BJ Young’s Arkansas basketball career is over.

Young, a 6-3 sophomore guard from St. Louis who led the Razorbacks in scoring each of his two seasons with the team, announced Thursday he’s entering the NBA Draft and will bypass his final two seasons of college eligibility.

Arkansas Coach Mike Anderson said he met with Young and Young’s father, Floyd Bell, on Thursday and Young expressed his desire to enter the draft.

“This is his dream, and as a coach I encourage him to pursue that dream,” Anderson said in a news release. “I gave him the pros and cons of his decision, and he chose to enter the draft.”

Young also entered the draft last year after averaging 15.3 points, 3.1 rebounds and 2.3 assists in 25.2 minutes per game as a freshman, but he withdraw his name to return to Arkansas in hopes of positioning himself to be an NBA lottery pick.

But Young is now projected as a late first-round to middle second-round pick after seeing his three-point shooting slip from 41.3 percent (50 of 121) last season to 23.4 percent (25 of 107) as a sophomore. Hisoverall field goal shooting was 50.4 percent as a freshman and 44.8 percent this season.

While Young’s shooting percentage took a dip, he averaged 15.2 points, 3.5 rebounds and 3.4 assists in 27.9 minutes, and he was voted second-team All-SEC by the conference coaches for the second time.

“BJ has become a well-rounded player, leading us in scoring and assists, and he became a more active rebounder,” Anderson said.

According to NCAA rules, a player cannot withdraw his name from the draft more than once, so Young must stay in it even if he doesn’t hire an agent.

“Thank you ARKANSAS for everything,” Young said on Twitter. “I have unconditional love for this place and people here.”

Young hit game-winning shots in the final seconds to lift Arkansas to victories against Oklahoma, Missouri and Georgia this season. He also hit a crucial three-pointer in the second overtime of a victory over Auburn.

Young scored a career 31 points against Florida as a freshman. That season, he also scored 28 points against Connecticut and 24 against Oklahoma and Mississippi State.

This season, he scored 29 points against Arizona State, 27 at Missouri, 26 against Northwestern (La.) State and 25 against Syracuse, Tennessee and at Auburn.

Young is the second Razorback to declare for the NBA Draft this week, joining redshirt junior forward Marshawn Powell, who averaged 14.5 points and 5.4 rebounds per game this season after coming back from knee surgery. While Powell hasn’t hired an agent, he isn’t expected to withdraw from the draft.

The departures of Powell and Young leave the Razorbacks with 12 scholarship players, including high school signees Bobby Portis and Moses Kingsley. The NCAA scholarship limit is 13.

Arkansas has offered scholarships to two junior college guards: Jamal Jones from Lee College in Baytown, Texas, and Desmond Lee from New Mexico Junior College in Hobbs, N.M.

With the loss of Powell and Young, Arkansas’ leading returning scorer is forward Coty Clarke, who averaged 7.6 points per game this season.