Keyon Dooling Declares for NBA Draft
4/21/2000 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
April 21, 2000
Columbia, Mo. - University of Missouri sophomore guard KEYON DOOLING will declare himself eligible as an early entry for the upcoming NBA Draft. The 6-foot-3 inch Fort Lauderdale, Fla. native made his announcement today in a press conference alongside MU Head Coach QUIN SNYDER at the Hearnes Center.
Dooling was a unanimous second-team all-Big 12 selection this season, after leading Missouri to an 18-13 record and an appearance in the NCAA Tournament. Dooling led MU in scoring (15.3 ppg), assists (3.7 apg) and blocked shots (17) this year, after averaging 8.7 points per game as a freshman in 1998-99.
"This was a tough decision to make, but I feel that it's in my best interests right now to enter the draft," said Dooling. "It's a dream of mine to play in the NBA, and I believe I have an opportunity to realize that at this point in time. I love the University of Missouri, and I'm very proud of what my teammates and I accomplished this year. I learned so much this year playing for Coach Snyder. As for the last few weeks, I want to thank everyone for their support," he said.
Dooling said he intends to finish out the spring semester at Missouri, and will proceed without the services of an agent, leaving open the possibility of returning to school at MU. The draft is scheduled for June 28th, and the deadline for withdrawing from the draft is June 21st.
"I'm excited for Keyon," said Snyder, who just completed his first season at MU. "He's got an opportunity in front of him that not many people have a shot at. We've spoken with a lot of people over the last several weeks, getting as much information as we can to help Keyon with his decision. The bottom line is that Keyon is thought of very highly by a lot of key people in the NBA, especially given his upside. I'd love to be able to coach him for another year, but I'm confident that he'll be very successful wherever he's playing," Snyder said
