go to MSN.com
  autos     money     sports     tech     more    
  MSN home  |  Mail  |  My MSN  | 

Mills to stay in draft, forgo final 2 years in college

by FOXSports.com


add this RSS print
Updated: June 16, 2009, 7:55 PM EDT
Comment
Saint Mary's sophomore point guard Patrick Mills has decided to keep his name in the 2009 NBA draft and forgo his final two years of eligibility.

Since declaring for the draft on April 17, Mills has spent the last two months working out for NBA teams to help make his decision.

"I respect and support Pat's decision to stay in the draft and we wish him the very best in his pursuit to play in the NBA," Saint Mary's coach Randy Bennett said in a statement. "He's been a tremendous ambassador to our basketball program, and we will miss him as a person, a leader and a basketball player. Knowing Pat's work ethic and desire, he will do very well in his professional basketball career."

In his two seasons at Saint Mary's, Patrick Mills scored 950 points and averaged 16.4 points per game while leading the Gaels to a 53-14 overall record. The 950 points are the most for any Saint Mary's player in their first two seasons, and he set a Gaels freshman record when he scored 472 points during the 2007-08 campaign. That season the 2008 WCC Newcomer of the Year guided the Gaels to a 25-7 overall record and a first round appearance in the NCAA tournament.

"I want to thank the coaching staff, and especially my teammates at Saint Mary's, as they have played a major part in helping me get to this point in my career," Mills said. "I appreciate everything they have done to help me along the way, and they deserve a lot of the credit. Saint Mary's is my home away from home."

After averaging a team-leading 18.4 points per game while averaging 3.8 assists and 2.2 steals per game during his sophomore season, Mills was named First Team All-West Coast Conference for the second time in his career. He helped Saint Mary's post a school record 28 wins during the 2008-09 season, as the Gaels finished the year with a 28-7 overall record and a quarterfinal finish in the school's first-ever National Invitational Tournament appearance.

Mills was the only collegiate player to compete in the Olympics, as he played for his home country of Australia during the summer of 2008. Mills averaged a team-high 14.2 points per game, in six games as a reserve, and helped the Boomers advance to the quarterfinal round of the tournament. Australia was defeated by the United States in the quarterfinals, but Mills scored a team-high 20 points, to go along with three steals and two assists with zero turnovers, against team USA.

Please note by clicking on "add a comment" you acknowledge that you have read the Terms of Use and the comment you are posting is in compliance with such terms. Be polite. Inappropriate posts may be removed by the moderator.

 advertisement

FOX SPORTS COLLEGE BASKETBALL VIDEO

The Goods: Memphis Matters
FOXSports.com's Jeff Goodman says Memphis coach Josh Pastner is preparing his team with an eye towards the future. Hear why.
The Goods: Anyone's ACC
FOXSports.com college hoops analyst Jeff Goodman says that North Carolina and Duke are favored in the ACC but it could be anyone's conference come March.

 advertisement

Statistical Information provided by: STATS LLC
© 2009 Fox Sports Interactive Media, LLC. All rights reserved.