Jordan Littman 03/24/2014 12:26 am in Media

It had long been rumored, but late Sunday night, Noah Vonleh confirmed the reports. He is declaring for the 2014 NBA draft, he told Gary Parrish of CBSSports.com.

Vonleh was the Big Ten Freshman of the Year in his lone season at Indiana, in which he led the conference with 9.0 rebounds per game and scored 11.3 points per game.

“It’s going to suck leaving college without an NCAA tournament,” Vonleh told Parrish. “But I have to do what’s best for me.”

The 6-foot-10 forward is projected to be a lottery pick in June’s NBA draft, and Vonleh told Parrish he thinks he will be selected anywhere from pick No. 4 to pick No. 12.

Vonleh is the first player under Tom Crean at Indiana to leave for the NBA after his freshman year. He is the first Hoosier to do so since Eric Gordon (2007-08), who currently is the starting shooting guard for the New Orleans Pelicans.

Filed to: Noah Vonleh