April 9, 2010
ATLANTA – Georgia Tech freshman Derrick Favors said Friday he will enter his name in the NBA draft and will not return for his sophomore year. Favors, a 6-10 forward from Atlanta, Ga., is projected to be one of the top five picks in the June draft.
“I look forward to taking this next step in my basketball career,” said Favors. “The time is right, and this is the best decision for me and my family. I’ve enjoyed my time at Georgia Tech and feel my year here has helped my development as a player, and I’m glad we were able to get to the NCAA Tournament and got a chance to play for the ACC Championship. I want to thank Coach Hewitt and the coaching staff for giving me the chance to play here.”
“We wish Derrick all the best as he pursues his professional basketball career,” head coach Paul Hewitt said. “He did a tremendous job for us this year and was a big part of our success. I’m confident he will be successful at the next level.”
Favors was named the Atlantic Coast Conference Rookie of the Year in 2009-10, the 11th Tech player to earn the honor, helping the Yellow Jackets to a 23-13 record and a berth in the NCAA Tournament. He was named to the ACC All-Tournament team as the Jackets won three games and reached the championship against Duke.
The freshman was Tech’s second-leading scorer (12.4 points per game) and rebounder (8.4 per game) in 2009-10, but led the Yellow Jackets in those categories (11.8 points and 8.7 rebounds per game) in ACC games only. He converted 61.1 percent of his field goal attempts for the season, which tied for the sixth-best in Tech history.
