Sports

Rivers to enter NBA draft

Monday, March 26, 2012

Duke guard Austin Rivers

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DURHAM (WTVD) -- Duke freshman guard Austin Rivers will enter the 2012 NBA Draft with plans to hire an agent, head coach Mike Krzyzewski announced on Monday.

Rivers was the 2012 ACC Rookie of the Year. He joins Corey Maggette (1999), Luol Deng (2004) and Kyrie Irving (2011) as Blue Devils to enter the NBA Draft after just one year of college basketball.

"Austin [Rivers] had a terrific year as a freshman and has put himself in a position to pursue his dream of being a great player in the NBA," said Krzyzewski. "He is an outstanding young man with an even more impressive family. We are in total support of Austin, his family and his decision. We look forward to watching him continue to develop and excel at the next level."

"I would like to thank the coaches, my teammates and the fans for helping make this past year at Duke so special," said Rivers. "Coach K and the rest of the staff really helped me develop and improve in all areas of the game. It was a difficult decision to leave Duke, but I am excited about chasing my dream of playing in the NBA."

Rivers reached double-figures in each of the final 17 games of the season averaging a team-best 17.2 points and 4.2 rebounds per game in that span.