Kentucky’s Orton, Bledsoe staying in NBA Draft

LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) — Kentucky freshmen Eric Bledsoe and Daniel Orton are choosing to remain in the NBA Draft.

Orton and Bledsoe announced Saturday they will not return to school for their sophomore seasons. They’ll join fellow underclassmen John Wall, DeMarcus Cousins and Patrick Patterson in the draft.

Bledsoe averaged 11.9 points in the backcourt alongside Wall, the Southeastern Conference Player of the Year.

Orton spent most of the season as a reserve center behind Cousins. He averaged 3.4 points and 3.3 rebounds and was second on the team with 53 blocks.

They are projected to go in the mid-to-late first round. All NCAA underclassmen had until Saturday to return to school.

They helped Kentucky go 35-3 and win the SEC regular season and conference tournament titles.