Fresh off his fantastic performance for Michigan in the National Championship game against Louisville, Trey Burke has decided to take his talents professionally to the NBA and announced that he will enter the draft after helping to bring back the Wolverines to prominence.
According to ESPN.com, Burke has decided to enter the NBA draft despite having two years left of eligibility and he will forego those to head to the pro ranks. Burke has the chance to be a lottery pick after winning the Wooden Award as player of the year and he made his announcement on Sunday about the draft.
Burke was the best player for Michigan during the season and it isn't much of a surprise he will make the jump after getting the Wolverines back to the national championship for the first time in nearly two decades. Burke set the record at Michigan for single season assists and is now on the career list at seventh place while averaging 16.9 points and 5.7 assists over the past two years.
Burke is not the only young player declaring for the draft, as Kentucky star Nerlens Noel said that he too would enter despite suffering a tough torn ACL injury earlier in the year. Noel was making a hustle play on defense when he jumped and landed awkwardly on his knee, tearing the ACL and knocking him out for the rest of the year.
The Wildcats were on the cusp of the NCAA tournament before Noel got hurt and the team couldn't recover to make it into the postseason and then lost in the NIT in the first round. Kentucky had the top recruit last year in Anthony Davis and there is a chance they will have it again as Noel was considered to be the top pick even after his injury.
Noel joins other players from Kentucky in the draft, including Archie Goodwin, and he will take his 10.5 points and 9.5 rebounds and his nation-leading 4.4 blocks into the NBA draft this year. He added 50 steals during the season while Kentucky went just 21-12 and Noel won defensive player of the year in the SEC.
Both Burke and Noel are considered to be lottery locks and Georgetown All-American Otto Porter Jr. will also join the two in the draft, as he made his announcement on Monday. Porter was one of the key players for the Hoyas and he made his announcement with his coach and many feel that he is a top 10 talent.
Porter averaged 16.2 points and 7.5 rebounds to lead Georgetown last season and the team finished the year by losing to the 15th seeded Florida Gulf Coast team that advanced to the Sweet 16.
