UCLA’s Thomas Welsh, Aaron Holiday test NBA draft without agents
Sophomore guard Aaron Holiday will test his luck in the NBA draft alongside five of his teammates. Holiday averaged 12.3 points and 4.4 assists for the Bruins off the bench. (Jintak Han/Assistant Photo editor)
By TuAnh Dam
April 10, 2017 10:14 a.m.
Two more UCLA basketball players have reportedly decided to test the waters in the NBA draft this year, per CBS basketball insider Jon Rothstein.
Junior center Thomas Welsh and sophomore guard Aaron Holiday have both declared for the NBA draft but like freshman teammate Ike Anigbogu have not hired an agent.
Players who don’t hire an agent have until May 24 to withdraw their names from the draft and keep their college eligibility.
With Welsh and Holiday gone, the Bruins would lose all their starters from last year’s team that reached the Sweet Sixteen, as well as their sixth man.
Freshmen Lonzo Ball and T.J. Leaf, both first round picks in mock NBA draft boards, declared shortly after the loss to Kentucky – with Ball hiring an agent soon after.
Welsh, the junior from Redondo Beach, nearly averaged a double-double with 10.8 points and 8.7 rebounds a game. Coming off the bench, Holiday finished the season with 12.3 points and 4.4 assists per game while shooting 49 percent from the floor and 41 percent from 3-point range.
The Bruins will also lose senior guards Isaac Hamilton and Bryce Alford to graduation, leaving junior forward G.G. Golomon as the only player who saw substantial minutes during the season if Welsh, Anigbogu and Holiday do sign with an NBA team.
Coach Steve Alford would have Prince Ali and Alex Olesinski back – both players redshirted due to injuries.
Alford will also have six players from ESPN’s No. 2 recruiting class, which features five-star recruits Jaylen Hands and Kris Wilkes, to try and rebuild his team with.
