UCLA’s Tyger Campbell declares for NBA draft

The Tyger Campbell era is over at UCLA.

The redshirt senior point guard announced in an Instagram post Wednesday that he is declaring for the NBA draft, adding that he is graduating and “looking forward to the next step in my basketball career.”

Even though he played four seasons, Campbell could have come back for one more year because of the eligibility extensions granted in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“It’s hard for me to describe how special my time at UCLA has been,” Campbell wrote. “But this has been an incredible ride. It has been an absolute honor to wear the four letters across my chest and be a part of this program for five years.”

A gritty playmaker whose performance vastly exceeded his 5-foot-11 stature, Campbell finished his career with 655 assists, ranking No. 2 on the school’s all-time list behind only Pooh Richardson (833). He tallied just 217 turnovers, giving him a 3.02-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio on the way to becoming a three-time first-team All-Pac-12 selection and helping the Bruins reach the 2021 Final Four in addition to two more appearances in the Sweet 16.

“Tyger Campbell, unbelievable career,” coach Mick Cronin said last month after his team’s 79-76 loss to Gonzaga in an NCAA tournament West Region semifinal. “You can’t get any more out of his body and his God-given things that he has that he can’t change. He totally maxes it out.”

After suffering a torn knee ligament and sitting out the 2018-19 season, Campbell started all 133 games he played and averaged 11.1 points. He vastly improved his outside shooting over his final two seasons, making 41% of his three-pointers as a junior and 33.8% as a senior after having previously made just 25.9%.

“Tyger Campbell has been a huge part of our success,” Cronin said Wednesday before adding that he hoped he would coach long enough to add Campbell as part of his staff. “He has shown so much heart, hustle and grit in how he led this team and how he overcame a knee injury that wiped out his first season in Westwood. Tyger has so many great intangible qualities, but simply put, he is a winner. He’s had an unbelievable career at UCLA and will go down as one of this program’s most accomplished point guards.”

Continuing his steady play, Campbell logged a double-double with 18 points and 10 assists Wednesday in his first game as part of the Portsmouth (Va.) Invitational Tournament, a four-day showcase for seniors to compete before professional scouts.

Campbell had hinted at a departure a few weeks ago in an Instagram post showing a picture of himself next to freshman understudy Dylan Andrews.

“Your time now brother!!” Campbell wrote.

The team’s fastest player and best on-ball defender, Andrews now becomes the starting point guard after averaging 3.3 points. 1.1 rebounds and 0.9 assists in 10.8 minutes per game during his first season. He came off the bench to bury a three-pointer against Gonzaga as part of a strong showing in limited minutes during the NCAA tournament.

Campbell becomes the third UCLA player to declare for the draft, joining Jaime Jaquez Jr. and Jaylen Clark, who has said he would preserve his eligibility by hiring a NCAA-certified agent in case he wanted to return next season.

Other Bruins also are facing decisions about their future. Freshman guard Amari Bailey could depart for the NBA after averaging 17.3 points over his final six games or return to further enhance his draft stock. Freshman center Adem Bona must decide whether he will leave or return to rehabilitate a shoulder injury and play another season at UCLA before turning professional.