Afflalo departing for NBA

Apr 11, 2007, 0:35 GMT

Los Angeles, CA - UCLA guard Arron Afflalo has decided to forego his senior season to enter the NBA Draft.

Afflalo, who has led the Bruins in scoring each of the last two seasons, made the same declaration last year, but pulled out of the draft and decided to return to the Bruins.

'It has been a wonderful three years,' Afflalo said. 'I have great teammates and I'm going to miss them a lot. But at this point and time, I feel it is time for me to move on.'

Afflalo averaged 16.9 points per game, third-most in the Pac-10, along with 2.8 rebounds and 1.9 assists per game this past season.

UCLA coach Ben Howland believes Afflalo will be a first-round pick.

'He brings a lot of things to the table,' Howland said. 'He is UCLA's first consensus All-American since Ed O'Bannon in 1995 and had a tremendous year. But more importantly, he is all about helping his team win and being a great teammate, one that is unselfish and plays both ends of the floor. And those are things that coaches are looking for at the next level. I believe he will have a long and successful career in the NBA.'

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