By Brandon Howell | The Game 730 AM

All-Big Ten Conference shooting guard Gary Harris is foregoing his junior season at Michigan State University to enter the upcoming NBA Draft.

The 19-year-old Fishers, Ind., native made the move official Monday afternoon, when MSU issued a news release announcing his decision.

Many believed Harris would have been selected early in last year’s NBA Draft, but he elected to return for his sophomore season in East Lansing.

More from the news release:

A 2014 First-Team All-Big Ten honoree, Harris averaged 16.7 points, 4.0 rebounds and 2.7 assists as a sophomore. He earned USBWA and NABC All-District accolades and earned a spot on the Big Ten All-Tournament Team and the NCAA East Regional All-Tournament Team. He was one of 15 finalists for the John R. Wooden Award after ranking sixth in the Big Ten in scoring and fifth in steals overall (1.8 steals per game). Voted the MSU Team MVP by both the media and his teammates, Harris was also a member of the All-Big Ten Defensive Team.

 

Over the course of his two seasons, Harris appeared in 69 games, starting 67, and averaged 14.9 points per contest. He totaled 1,025 career points, becoming the 45th player in MSU history with 1,000 career points and just the third Spartan to do it in just two seasons, joining Mike Robinson (1,202 points through two seasons) and Earvin “Magic” Johnson (1,059 points)."

Harris is the fifth Spartan to declare for the draft early under Michigan State Coach Tom Izzo, joining Shannon Brown (2006), Zach Randolph (2001), Jason Richardson (2001) and Marcus Taylor (2002).

Brown, Randolph and Richardson were each selected in the first round of the NBA Draft, while Taylor was a second-round selection. Erazem Lorbek left MSU after one season in 2003, but returned to Europe at that time and did not enter the NBA Draft until 2005.

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