NBA teams
Jeff Borzello, ESPN Staff Writer 9y

Chris McCullough going to NBA

NBA Draft, NBA, Syracuse Orange

Syracuse freshman Chris McCullough will enter the NBA draft, he confirmed Thursday.

"I came to Cuse to prepare for a dream. I came for a purpose. What I got was so much more," McCullough said in his posted statement on Twitter. "I got coaches that prepared me for battle. I got teammates that bled for me and I got fans that believed in me.

"Thank you Coach Boeheim for helping me become a man on and off the court and thank you Cuse for loving me the way I loved you! I will forever bleed Orange. Time to live out my dream."

McCullough, a 6-foot-10 forward, was averaging 9.3 points and 6.9 rebounds through 16 games before tearing his right ACL in a January game against Florida State.

McCullough, who was a five-star prospect coming out of high school, ranked No. 24 in the ESPN 100 for the 2014 class.

ESPN's Chad Ford has McCullough ranked No. 43 in his draft projections.

Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim thanked McCullough for his contributions to the team.

McCullough's departure brings Syracuse to 10 scholarships for next season and eight for the 2016-17 season. That's significant because the Orange received their NCAA sanctions last month, with a reduction of scholarships among the punishments. Ron Patterson and B.J. Johnson transferred last month.

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