Nikola Vucevic of USC Declares for 2011 NBA Draft

USC's Nikola Vucevic has declared himself eligible for the 2011 NBA Draft. Vucevic definitely has the potential to be a first round selection, and must have thought the odds were good to make this decision. USC just finished a disappointing showing in the NCAA Tournament, falling in a play-in game to Virginia Commonwealth on March 16. That dropped their record for the season down to 19-15, and had quite a few college basketball analysts debating about whether they belonged in the tournament in the first place.

Vucevic averaged 17.1 points and 10.3 rebounds per game in his junior season with USC, and was one of the better big men in the Pac-10 Conference this past year. He almost averaged a double-double during his sophomore season as well, when he posted stats of 10.7 points and 9.4 rebounds per game. In the 2010-11 season though, he really found his place on the roster, and became one of the best players in the conference. Now he looks to take his talents to the next level, and could be one of several players to leave the conference for the big show.

According to ESPN, Vucevic stated on Saturday that, "I just felt like this was the right time for me to leave. I think I showed a lot of things that I can do at this level. I made improvements each year, and I think that this year I showed what I can do." He went on to say that, "I'm ready as a person and as a player. I'm mature enough and it was just the perfect opportunity for me." He definitely seems to have the confidence level to make the big jump, and if his statistics can lend to scouts taking a longer look at him, then we might hear his name called on draft day. It's also quite possible that he made this decision after hearing Jared Sullinger would stay at Ohio State.

In the next two weeks there is going to be a lot of news about the 2011 NBA Draft and which players will declare to enter the fray. A lot of buzz is surrounding the underclassmen again this year, and Vucevic enters a class that is packed with talent. Anyone who claims there isn't enough talent in the 2011 draft class isn't paying close enough attention, because nearly any type of player you can think of could be in the mix. Those NBA teams with more than one selection could actually end up with two very useful additions to their roster this offseason.

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