UCLA's Shabazz Muhammad entering 2013 NBA draft

• UCLA freshman star Shabazz Muhammad declared for the NBA draft
• Muhammad averaged a team-high 17.9 ppg
• While expected to be drafted in the lottery%2C it was revealed that Muhammad is 20%2C not 19

In what came as no surprise to anyone who followed college basketball this season, UCLA announced Tuesday morning that freshman guard-forward Shabazz Muhammad plans forgo his final three years of eligibility and enter the 2013 NBA draft.

Muhammad averaged a team-best 17.9 points a game and was the Pac-12 co-Freshman of the Year. According to most NBA draft projections, Muhammad is expected to be taken in the lottery.

"I am so thankful for the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to play at UCLA and will always be proud to be a Bruin," Muhammad said in a statement. "From a young age, I have dreamed of playing in the NBA, and I believe that this is the right time for me to move to the next level.

"I have had an unbelievable experience at UCLA and am eternally grateful to my teammates, my coaches and the program's support staff for helping me become a better person and basketball player during my time in Westwood. It has been an honor and a privilege to play for coach Ben Howland."

Muhammad scored at least 20 points in 14 games, and though his play lived up to the hype of one of the nation's top freshman, his season wasn't without turmoil.

He missed the first three games of the season while the NCAA investigated how he paid for recruiting visits to Duke and North Carolina. Muhammad was declared eligible and asked to repay $1,600 in impermissible benefits. The handling of the case also received scrutiny after reports in the Los Angeles Times emerged that the lead NCAA investigator had spoken about the case before gathering key facts and hoped Muhammad never became eligible. That investigator was subsequently fired by the NCAA.

Muhammad's birth certificate also became a prominent story line, as it was discovered that he was 20 years old and not 19, as his family had previously let on.