Arizona basketball: Rondae Hollis-Jefferson declares for NBA Draft

At a Tuesday afternoon press conference in McKale Center, the future plans of Rondae Hollis-Jefferson became official.

The 6-7 forward from Philly announced that he will leave the Arizona Wildcats after two seasons and enter the NBA Draft.

"To start off, I would just like to say thank you to the city of Tucson and their great fans for everything over the last two years," Hollis-Jefferson started his press conference with. "The love you guys have shown me has been overwhelming. It's not every day that a kid where I'm from gets an opportunity like this, and I've just tried to embrace it."

"With that being said, I've decided to enter my name into the 2015 NBA Draft."

"After talking with my family and Coach Miller, I weighed the pros and cons. I fully believe this is the right choice. I'm excited for the challenges of life ahead, and with the knowledge that God rewards hard work, I plan to attack them. I want to thank my family and my teammates and coaches at Arizona, and all of the U of A fans and everyone else who has supported me along this way. This wouldn't be possible without you, and I look forward to making you proud in the years to come. Thank you."

"I've never seen him more serious in my life," Sean Miller joked after that. "You always hope when it comes to an end that it ends like this, and I don't know if I've ever enjoyed coaching a player more than I've enjoyed coaching Rondae."

This decision has been speculated as happening for about a week now, but the sophomore made it official with Sean Miller at his side. He did say that he's known for "a week or two" that he was going to enter this year's NBA Draft.

Hollis-Jefferson averaged 11.2 points in 38 games this year. After coming off the bench early in the season by his own choice, Rondae ended up with 25 games started, averaging 28.7 minutes per game.

The aspect of his game that will draw the most attention is his defensive versatility. DraftExpress did a great video breakdown of the various aspects of Hollis-Jefferson's game, and just how his skills will translate to the NBA. Get ready to hear all about his seven-foot wingspan as coverage for the Draft starts ramping up.

"My game will speak for itself," Rondae said.

He's currently projected to go 23rd to the Portland Trailblazers in the DraftExpress Mock Draft. According to ESPN's Chad Ford, Hollis-Jefferson is the 26th-best prospect in the 2015 Draft.

Rondae may go down as one of the most beloved Arizona players in recent memories, with his antics on and off the court. Unlike last year though, when he joined AEPi instead of entering the Draft, RHJ will be moving on to the next level.

Good luck Rondae in all your future endeavors and hopefully we'll be seeing you in the Association for a long time to come.