Cal forward Jaylen Brown declares for NBA draft

Jaylen Brown has declared for the NBA draft following his freshman year at Cal.

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Cal freshman forward Jaylen Brown has announced his intent to declare for the NBA draft.

Brown intends to hire an agent, meaning he will be unable to withdraw from the player pool and return to school.

Brown was named the Pac-12 Conference Freshman of the Year after averaging 14.6 points and 5.4 rebounds per game. He scored at least 20 points in six of his 33 games this season. He also earned Freshman All-America honors from the U.S. Basketball Writers Association of America.

A projected lottery pick, Brown, 19, struggled from beyond the three-point line, shooting 29.4% from deep, and also hit just 54.6% of his free throws. He scored just four points in the Bears' first-round loss to Hawaii in the NCAA tournament.

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A Sunday deadline has been set for underclassmen to enter the NBA draft. Brown’s teammate Ivan Rabb, another potential lottery pick, has yet to declare his intentions for next season.

- Chris Chavez and Jeremy Woo