Sooners' M'Baye to forego senior season

Mar 28, 2013 - 6:08 PM Norman, OK (Sports Network) - Oklahoma Sooners junior forward Amath M'Baye announced that he will forego his senior season and enter the NBA Draft.

M'Baye, a native of France, averaged 10.1 points and 5.2 rebounds this season en route to earning third-team All-Big 12 honors.

The 6-foot-9 M'Baye, who announced that he plans to hire an agent, spent two seasons with Wyoming (2009-11), before transferring to Oklahoma.

"My time at OU has been great," said M'Baye. "I'm 23 years old. My goal when I came to the United States was to take care of business in the classroom and by the time I was 23 to have a degree in my pocket. Now that I'm graduating in May, it's time for me to start taking care of my family the way they've taken care of me for so long.

"It's a tough process of saying goodbye to everybody because I love everyone here," he continued. "The coaches did an amazing job with me and with this team in general. Everyone was great here and I had an amazing time. I want to be able to come back down the road and help the program however I can, because it's given me a lot."

M'Baye came to the United States in 2008 and played one year at Stoneridge Prep in Simi Valley, CA.

"Amath has been a terrific ambassador for the University of Oklahoma, both on the court and in the classroom," said OU head coach Lon Kruger. "We appreciate his many contributions and wish him nothing but great success in the future.

"We'll now turn our attention to spring workouts," Kruger continued. "The returning players and our incoming recruits are really excited about next season. Amath's contributions to this year's team enhanced the foundation of our program, and we have a great and motivated young group of guys who will look to build on the success of this year's squad."