Syracuse, N.Y. — Syracuse basketball forward Chris McCullough will declare for the NBA Draft.

The news was first reported this morning by RealGM.com.

McCullough and his uncle, Andre, were not immediately available for comment. Andre McCullough said earlier this week that his nephew was considering entering the NBA Draft. When reached after news of McCullough's departure broke, SU coach Jim Boeheim referred to an upcoming release the university would be issuing.

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McCullough, a versatile 6-foot-10 forward who turned 20 in February, played 16 games at Syracuse before a torn anterior cruciate ligament finished his freshman year. He averaged 9.3 points on 48 percent shooting in his 28 minutes of playing time. He grabbed 6.9 rebounds per game.

Before he arrived on the Syracuse campus, McCullough had been designated a probable one-and-done freshman, his combination of size and skills an enticing package of possibility.

In conversations over the past couple months, McCullough has maintained that he would return to Syracuse for his sophomore season and spend the summer here rehabilitating his surgically-repaired knee. But the lure of the NBA continued to weigh on him, his uncle said earlier this week.

Andre McCullough has acted as his nephew's coach and mentor, working out with him over the summer months. Chris McCullough, whose knee surgery was performed in Manhattan last February, said last month there was no specific timetable to mapping his return to the basketball court. His mending knee will not permit him to work out for NBA teams.

"By the summertime, I'll be able to run," McCullough said last month. "I won't be able to play until probably late October, November. But in a game, I probably won't play a game until December. I don't want to rush it."

