UCLA junior guard Chris Smith, the Bruins’ leading scorer and the Pac-12 Conference most improved player, has declared for the NBA draft, his father, Sean, said Tuesday.
“This is a step-by-step process,” Sean Smith said via text message.
Chris Smith has long intrigued NBA evaluators because he’s a bouncy 6-foot-9 prospect with a versatile skill set, but he’s also been inconsistent. He’s considered by some a fringe second-round pick after a junior season in which he averaged a team-high 13.1 points to go with 5.4 rebounds per game, becoming a first-team Pac-12 selection.
“I’ll support all my players in anything they decide to do,” UCLA coach Mick Cronin said in a text message.