The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
Elijah Millsap Declares For NBA Draft
4/9/2010 12:00:00β―AM | Men's Basketball
April 9, 2010
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- UAB junior guard Elijah Millsap will forgo his senior season at UAB and enter the NBA draft, the Grambling, La. native announced Friday. Millsap will not hire an agent and therefore will be eligible to return to the Blazers next season if he removes his name from the list by the May 8th deadline.
Millsap is coming off a terrific 2009-10 season in which he was tabbed as a Conference USA First-Team honoree. In doing so, he became the first UAB player since Robert Vaden in 2008 and the fifth UAB player to earn first-team All-C-USA honors since the league began in 1995.
Millsap had an outstanding season, leading the conference in rebounds per game (9.5), while also ranking fifth in the league with 16.1 points per contest. Millsap, the brother of Utah Jazz star Paul Millsap, also topped the conference and ranked 13th in the nation in double-doubles with 17 - the most in UAB history. The 6-6, 215-pound guard also broke single-season school records for total rebounds (324) and free throws attempted (236).
"It's always been my dream since I started playing basketball to have a chance to play in the NBA," Millsap said. "I'm anxious to begin the process and see the type of feedback I get."
Underclassmen that declare for the NBA Draft who do not sign with an agent have until the deadline to remove their names from the draft and retain their college eligibility.
"We respect and will support Elijah throughout this entire process," head coach Mike Davis said. "Eli had a terrific season for us and definitely owes it to himself to see what type of feedback he gets from NBA teams. We wish him nothing but the best and we will be here throughout this process."
