Glen Davis, the bulky big man better known as "Big Baby" to college basketball rivals, announced on Tuesday he will skip his final season to join the National Basketball Association.
Fifteen years after Shaquille O'Neal announced he was skipping his senior season at Louisiana State University, Davis followed in the footsteps of the Miami Heat superstar who has won four NBA titles.
Lofty numbers
Davis has career totals of 1,587 points, 916 rebounds and 110 blocks, joining "Shaq" as the only Louisiana State players with such numbers in all three categories.
"This is a move I want to do and am ready to do," Davis said. "This is a dream of mine and one that I have given a great deal of thought. I feel I grew a lot this season and I know in my heart the time is right."
Davis, a wide 2.04m center with quick moves, averages 17.7 points and 10.4 rebounds in 29 games this season.
But the Tigers were a disappointing 17-15 this season after reaching the US college semi-finals last year, when Davis was the Southeastern Conference Player of the Year with 18.6 points and 9.7 rebounds a game.
`Fortunate'
"I was fortunate to be on one of LSU's four Final Four teams," Davis said.
"One of my reasons for not leaving last year was my hope I could go even further this year. Unfortunately, that didn't happen," he said.
"After one of the toughest years I have had mentally and physically, I feel I am ready mentally and physically to play in the NBA," he added.
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