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By AJ Cadman

Daily Bruin Senior Staff

UCLA freshman forward Jason Kapono announced on Friday of finals week that he would withdraw his name from consideration for this year’s NBA draft on Wednesday and return to the Bruin basketball program.

Submitting a formal letter to the NBA offices in New York five days before the pull-out deadline of June 21, Kapono is eligible to return to UCLA because he did not sign representation with an agent while a draft candidate.

The Bruins’ leading scorer last season with a 16 points per contest average, Kapono had previously declared his intentions to “test the waters” of the NBA Draft on May 13.

He stated in his letter to NBA deputy commissioner Russ Granik that “this letter shall serve as my notice to resume participation in intercollegiate athletics at UCLA and withdraw my name as a candidate for the 2000 NBA Draft.”

“I had a lot of things to consider,” Kapono said. “I believe I would have been a first-round selection in this draft. The deciding factor for me was being able to come back to UCLA, be with my teammates, play for the Bruins and continue my college experience and education.”

Kapono remained enrolled at UCLA during the Spring Quarter and took finals. He participated in on-campus workouts for professional teams to allow scouts to gauge where his skills would put him on the draft charts. He did not attend the NBA Pre-Draft Camp in Chicago June 6-9, though former teammates Jerome Moiso and JaRon Rush, who remain in the draft, did.

“I made an effort during the spring to continue my progress toward a degree and I’m going to summer school, too,” Kapono said. “The bottom line is I want to come back and play for coach Lavin and do what I can to help us be a successful team this season.”

Kapono was one of only two Bruins, alongside co-captain Earl Watson, to start all 33 games last year. His 16 ppg scoring average was the highest by a freshman in the Pac-10 last season and was the second highest single-season mark in UCLA freshman history, behind Don MacLean’s 18.6 in 1988-89.

“We had a lot of confidence that he was going in the first round, and I’m surprised he’s not going, but it’s Jason’s choice,” said his father, Joe Kapono. “He just wants some polishing.”

Other UCLA records set by the Lakewood, Calif. native included the single-season three-point (made) record with 82, breaking the old school record of 78, set by Tracy Murray in 1992. His end of the season honors were capped by the CBS SportsLine National Freshman of the Year and the Pac-10 co-Freshman of the Year awards.

UCLA will now have three returning starters from last year’s NCAA Sweet 16 squad – senior guard Earl Watson, junior center Dan Gadzuric and Kapono.

“Of course we are very pleased to have Jason returning to our team,” Bruin head coach Steve Lavin said in a statement.

“Jason was very deliberate in his approach to exploring his future in basketball at the next level. Jason decided that even though he would be a first round draft choice, he wanted to come back to our UCLA family for another year of education and basketball,” he said.

Lavin was optimistic about the upcoming season.

“As our leading scorer from last season, his return solidifies our chances of again being one of the nation’s top teams for the coming season,” he said.

. . .

It was announced last Monday that the Bruin men’s basketball program signed a third member to the 2000 recruiting class. Ryan Walcott , a 6-foot-3 point guard from Shadow Mountain High in Phoenix, Ariz., signed a grant in aid contract to play basketball at UCLA.

While Walcott joins the team after the official signing period, the grant-in-aid serves the same purpose as a scholarship to play NCAA basketball.

Last February, Walcott helped lead Shadow Mountain to the Arizona 5A State Championship. A cousin to University of Arizona standout Mike Bibby, who is currently with the NBA’s Vancouver Grizzlies, Walcott averaged 16.2 points and 5.4 assists per game last season as a senior. He shot 52 percent from the field, 40 percent from three-point range and 76 percent from the foul line.

“We are thrilled to have Ryan Walcott join the UCLA basketball family,” Lavin said. “Ryan comes from an elite high school program and was well-schooled by his coach, Jerry Conner. Our staff believes Ryan’s future is very bright.”

For the last four seasons, Walcott has been the starting point guard. He helped lead the team to 21 victories in its last 22 games, including wins over three Top 10 teams to reach the Arizona State semi-finals. Shadow Mountain was 27-5 in 1999-2000.

During Walcott’s four-year (1997-2000) high school career, Shadow Mountain was 92-37 overall, including a 26-6 mark in 1999 and advanced to the Arizona State Tournament all four seasons.

“This was Ryan’s fourth year as our starting point guard,” Conner said. “He not only has point guard skills as far as being able to push the ball and pass, but he possesses the off-guard’s ability to shoot the basketball. He’s really a complete player, who is very quick on defense.”

Walcott, who was also recruited by the likes of St. Louis and Arizona State, is UCLA’s third incoming freshman recruit for the coming season. He joins 6-foot-9 T. J. Cummings, from Homewood-Flossmore High in Homewood, Ill. and 6-foot-8 Josiah Johnson, from Montclair Prep in Van Nuys.

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