Marquette's Vander Blue has decided to forgo his final year of collegiate eligibility and enter the 2013 draft, the school announced today in a press release. The junior guard will sign with an agent, making his early entry official.
"I've had three great years here and appreciate everything Marquette has done for me during that time to help me develop," Blue said in a statement. "At this point I want to pursue my dream. I've prayed about it and discussed it with my family and think this is the right decision for me at this time."
Although Blue helped lead Marquette to the Elite Eight in this year's NCAA tournament, averaging 18.3 PPG in the team's four March Madness games, he's only ranked 76th among 2013 prospects by ESPN.com's Chad Ford. Still, Ford wrote last month that Blue's stock was on the rise, and that the 20-year-old shouldn't be counted out of the first-round conversation just yet.