Nate Glencer/The Chronicle
Austin Rivers, who became the first freshman since Johnny Dawkins to lead the Blue Devils in scoring this season, will hire an agent and enter the NBA Draft, Duke confirmed Monday.
Jeff Goodman of CBSSports.com first reported the news Friday, citing unnamed sources.
“I would like to thank the coaches, my teammates and the fans for helping make this past year at Duke so special,” Rivers said in a press release. “Coach K and the rest of the staff really helped me develop and improve in all areas of the game. It was a difficult decision to leave Duke, but I am excited about chasing my dream of playing in the NBA.”
Rivers recorded 3.4 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game to go along with his team-high 15.5 points per contest.
The ACC rookie of the year is the fourth Blue Devil freshman ever to declare for the NBA Draft, along with Corey Maggette in 1999, Luol Deng in 2004 and Kyrie Irving in 2011.
“Austin [Rivers] had a terrific year as a freshman and has put himself in a position to pursue his dream of being a great player in the NBA,” head coach Mike Krzyzewski said in the release. “He is an outstanding young man with an even more impressive family. We are in total support of Austin, his family and his decision. We look forward to watching him continue to develop and excel at the next level.”
Good riddance
They’ll eat this guy up. No defense, no passing skills, not a team player. He’ll be one and done in the NBA too. I wish him well. Good Luck.
lets be honest nobody in the NBA plays defense or passes the ball unless its around the arch to get an open 3. He has amazing off the dribble drive and can drop threes all day. Of course hes not going to be Kobe the first season but he’l put up decent numbers. and it doesnt make sense to bash a player then say good luck..
he want play for 4 or 5 years and even then he want start!