Shipp pulls out of draft, returns to UCLA

Posted: Tue Jun 10 9:21 PM

Los Angeles, CA (Sports Network) - UCLA guard Josh Shipp has withdrawn his name from the NBA Draft and will return for his senior season, Bruins head coach Ben Howland announced Tuesday.

Howland said Shipp, who did not hire an agent prior to declaring for the draft in late April, signed the paperwork to take his name out of consideration for the June 26 event.

"Josh has been an integral part of our three Final Four runs and I am really excited that he is coming back for his senior year," Howland said.

This past season, UCLA advanced to its third consecutive Final Four in the NCAA Tournament, coming out of the West Regional. But the Bruins lost to Memphis in the national semifinal. They lost to Florida in the previous two seasons, falling to the Gators in the national semifinals in 2007, and the title game in 2006.

"I am glad I went through this process," Shipp said. "It gave me the opportunity to get input and prepare my body and my game for the next level. But at the end of the day, I wanted to come back and make another run for the championship. We've been close three times and a goal of mine is to win the NCAA championship."

Shipp was the only UCLA player this past season to start all 39 games, and averaged 12.2 points, 3.2 rebounds and 2.1 assists. Joining Shipp for the upcoming collegiate season will be point guard Darren Collison, who announced he would return to school a day before Shipp's declaration for the NBA Draft.

The tandem, however, will not be joined by center Kevin Love, forward Luc- Richard Mbah a Moute and guard Russell Westbrook, all UCLA starters who declared for the NBA Draft.