April 9, 2008

Associated Press
Rivals.com College Basketball

LOS ANGELES ? UCLA All-American Kevin Love and teammate Darren Collison will make themselves available for the NBA draft, the Los Angeles Times reported Tuesday night.

The newspaper, quoting unidentified sources close to the players, reported they are expected to hire agents, which would mean they could not return to play for the Bruins next season.

However, Collison denied the report through a UCLA spokesman, saying he hadn't yet talked with his parents about his future plans.

UCLA coach Ben Howland has a news conference scheduled for Wednesday.

Love, a freshman center, led the Bruins in scoring (17.5 points) and rebounds (10.6). Collison, a junior point guard, was a third-team All-American who averaged 15.2 points and 3.9 assists this season.

The Bruins lost in the national semifinals to Memphis on Saturday.

The Times also reported the Bruins are expected to lose sophomore guard Russell Westbrook to the June draft. The deadline for underclassmen to declare is April 27.