The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
Elijah Millsap To Keep Name In NBA Draft
5/3/2010 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
May 3, 2010
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- UAB junior guard Elijah Millsap has announced that he will not return to school and will keep his name in the 2010 NBA Draft.
"This was a very hard decision to make and one I went back and forth on for a while," Millsap said. "It's always been my dream since I started playing basketball to have a chance to play in the NBA. In the end, I just felt like this was the right time. I want to thank the coaches, my teammates and the UAB family for all their support during my time here."
Millsap, the Grambling, La. native who is on pace to graduate this summer with a degree in psychology, is coming off an outstanding 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).
"We want to wish Eli the best of luck as he begins his professional playing career," head coach Mike Davis said. "Eli is a terrific basketball player and has worked very hard to get to this point. We wish him nothing but the best."
