ÃÛÌÒÓ°ÏñAV

See ya.

Olson took the high road when asked about Dele’s sudden departure from Arizona’s basketball program. “It was not my place to advise him to come out or not to come out,� he said three days later.

Said the 6-foot-11 Dele, who had averaged 14 points and 7.8 rebounds during the UA’s 1990-91 Sweet 16 season: “I know a lot of people in Tucson are real sad. But I believe I’m a major leaguer. I’m ready to move on.�

And thus the gates were open. Carter Bryant becomes the 27th Wildcat to leap to the NBA Draft with eligibility remaining. The NBA Draft is Wednesday and Thursday. Bryant is the 11th freshman to do so. We probably know less about Bryant than the 10 previous freshmen because he got less usage than all but power forward Grant Jerrett, who left after the 2012-13 season, mostly because prep phenom Aaron Gordon had been recruited to take his position. Jerrett was drafted No. 40 in 2013 and played in eight NBA games. He has since played in Europe and Asia.

Jerrett averaged 16.6 minutes per game as a Wildcat. Bryant: 19.

The only other one-and-done Pac-12 players to play close to Bryant ‘s low number of minutes were UCLA power forward Jonah Bolden, 2015-16, with 21 minutes per game, and USC’s Bronny James, with 10.3 minutes in 2023-24.

The other ÃÛÌÒÓ°ÏñAV one-and-done freshmen were:

– Jerryd Bayless played 11 NBA seasons and made $48 million.

– Nico Mannion is a sub point guard in the Italian pro league.

– Zeke Nnaji has made 11 starts in five years for Denver.

– Lauri Markkanen has an 18-point career average and has been an All-Star.

– Deandre Ayton has been paid $138 million in seven years.

– Kobi Simmons played in 42 NBA games.

– Stanley Johnson averaged 6.2 points per game in six NBA seasons.

– Gordon has scored 9,757 points in the NBA.

– Josh Green, a career sub, is now with Carolina.

– Dele’s NBA career stretched over eight seasons. He averaged 11 points per game playing for five teams. He was a journeyman.

When I think of Arizona’s one-and-done roster, I remember point guard Damon Stoudamire, fresh from the 1994 Final Four, choosing to return to Arizona for a senior season, in which he became a consensus All-American.

Rather than go through the NBA Draft process, Stoudamire chose to play for Team USA at the Goodwill Games in Russia. Stoudamire, the team captain, led Team USA to the gold medal. Before Stoudamire left for Russia, he remained in Tucson for an extra day to help recruit big-time prospect Ben Davis, a center who would help lead the Wildcats to a 50-15 record the next two seasons.

A year later, fully prepared, Stoudamire became the NBA Rookie of the Year.