Kentucky guard Washington leaving school for NBA draft

LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) — Kentucky guard TyTy Washington Jr. will enter the NBA draft and forego his remaining collegiate eligibility, ending his lone season as the Wildcats’ second-leading scorer.

The 6-foot-3 freshman is the second Wildcats player to enter the draft pool in what has become a spring ritual for the program. Junior forward Keion Brooks Jr. announced on Monday that he will

Projected as a first-round prospect, Washington said in a release his decision followed discussions with his parents, family and Kentucky coach John Calipari.

“Leaving Kentucky won’t be easy,” Washington added, “but I am ready for the challenges ahead and know I am ready based on my experiences here in Lexington.”

Calipari added that Washington “is a play-making guard who has the ability to play on the ball or off and still impact the game in a variety of ways. We’ve had a number of players leave here and be successful at the next level who are in a similar mode as TyTy.”

League coaches and media members named Washington to the All-Southeastern Conference second team. He averaged 12.5 points, 3.9 assists and 3.5 rebounds per game while starting 29 of 31 contests. Washington also broke John Wall's single-game school record for assists with 17 against Georgia.

Injuries sidelined him for three Southeastern Conference games, including two down the stretch as Kentucky (26-8, 14-4) finished third in the league. The Phoenix native scored just five points on 2-of-10 shooting in the second-seeded Wildcats’

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