St. Mary's Mills to test NBA draft

By turn pro now, Patty Mills passed up his two remaining years of eligibility at St. Mary's. AP

BRISBANE, Australia (AP) -- St. Mary's star guard Patty Mills will make himself available for the NBA draft in June, possibly forsaking the final two years of his college basketball eligibility in the United States.

Mills, a member of the Australian national team, concluded his second season with the Gaels, averaging career highs of 18.7 points, 4.0 assists, 2.6 rebounds and 2.5 steals per game. St. Mary's lost in the quarterfinals of the NIT college tournament.

On Friday, he told a teleconference initiated by Basketball Australia from St. Mary's in Moraga, California, that he would not sign with an agent ahead of the June 25 draft at Madison Square Garden, allowing him to return to St. Mary's if he is not chosen by an NBA team.

"It's a win-win situation for me," Mills said. "If I don't get all the feedback that I want or need, I come back for my third year."

A Basketball Australia statement Friday said that non-graduating students can declare their eligibility for the NBA draft, but pull their name out of contention before the draft to retain their college eligibility, as long as they haven't employed an agent.

The top 30 players chosen in the first round of the draft are guaranteed three-year contracts.

"It was a tough decision to come across ... sitting down with my family and coach," Mills said. "I really need to push myself and challenge myself to the next level, test the waters and get the feedback."

If Mills is picked up in the draft, he will become the second indigenous Australian after center/forward Nathan Jawai, who was selected by the Toronto Raptors last year. Fellow Australian Andrew Bogut plays for the Milwaukee Bucks after being selected as the No.1 draft pick three years ago.

Mills, 20, said he has no particular NBA team in mind.

"I will come across them in the next few weeks," he said. "We'll sit down and sort out the teams. Right now, I have to work on my conditioning, my basketball. These are the things I am worrying about at this point."

First up, though, are his remaining studies for the year.

"I still have another semester left and I am doing the best I can to finish them off," Mills said.

"I have never been in this situation, I'm new to it all ... learning how to handle the off-court distractions as well as my work on cort."

Mills, 1.83 meters (6 feet) and 82 kilograms (180 pounds), averaged a team-best 14.2 points, all off the bench, in the six games Australia played at the Beijing Olympics last year.

He scored 20 points in a quarterfinal loss to the United States, including three assists and two steals in 28 minutes.

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