Arizona Wildcats forward Brandon Ashley declares for NBA Draft

The Arizona Wildcats lost another member of their starting lineup Wednesday.

The school announced in a press release that junior forward Brandon Ashley has decided to forego his senior season and enter the NBA Draft.

“After giving it much thought and talking with my mother and my coaches, I have decided to enter the NBA Draft,” Ashley said in the release. “I am very proud of my time at Arizona, especially of the success I’ve had with my Wildcat brothers over the last three years. I want to thank Coach (Sean) Miller, the coaching staff, the administration, the fans and the city of Tucson for an incredible college experience and unforgettable support.

“During my time as a Wildcat, I have grown both on and off the court, which has made me a stronger athlete and person today. I know this is the right time for me to make the move to the NBA, and I will continue to be one of the hardest working guys out there until I fulfill my lifelong dream of playing at the highest level.”

The 6-foot-9 Ashley averaged 12.2 points and 5.2 rebounds per game for the Wildcats last season. In three seasons in Tucson, he posted averages of 10.3 points and 5.4 rebounds in 25.1 minutes per game.

Ashley’s career in the Old Pueblo is one of the more interesting ones, if only for the fact that he is the center of one of the bigger “what ifs” in the school’s recent history.

In 2012-13, Ashley was a key part of an Arizona team that raced out to a 21-0 start, looking every bit the NCAA championship contender. However, the forward broke his foot in a game at California — Arizona’s first loss of the year — and was out the rest of the year. Would Arizona, who has not been to the Final Four since 2001, have ended the drought with a healthy Ashley? We’ll never know.

Regardless, Ashley returned to play in every game last season, earning All-Pac-12 accolades while helping Arizona post a 34-4 record along with an appearance in the Elite 8. He was named the Most Outstanding Player in the Pac-12 Tournament after averaging 19.7 points and 6.3 rebounds per game in leading the ‘Cats to their first Pac-12 Tournament championship since 2002.

“We support Brandon’s decision to declare for this year’s NBA Draft. Brandon had a major impact on all three of the teams that he played on during his time at Arizona,” Arizona coach Sean Miller said. “Watching him overcome the injury he sustained during the 2013-14 season and then have the type of junior season he had was one of my proudest moments as a coach.

“His performance in this year’s Pac-12 Tournament is a sign of many things to come in his future, and we know he’ll be a success in his professional career moving forward. We will miss Brandon’s consistency and maturity off the court in so many ways. In the classroom, he has put himself in a great position to earn his degree and in our community, he was as likeable and engaging as any player we’ve had.”

Ashley’s announcement comes on the heels of a similar one made by Rondae Hollis-Jefferson Tuesday afternoon. Arizona was already going to be without point guard T.J. McConnell, who is out of collegiate eligibility, and now awaits decisions from Stanley Johnson and Kaleb Tarczewski.

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