Tyler Ulis joins Kentucky teammates leaving for NBA Draft

For the third time in less than a week, a Kentucky player announced that he is leaving to enter the NBA Draft.

Point guard Tyler Ulis on Wednesday joined freshmen Skal Labissiere and Jamal Murray in declaring his intentions to leave the talent-rich program to play at the next level.

Ulis plans to sign with an agent, which would make him ineligible to return to college basketball.

"I feel like this is my time," Ulis said at a news conference in Lexington, Ky.

An Associated Press first-team All-American this season, the 5-foot-9 Ulis is expected to be a first-round pick in the NBA Draft on June 23.

Ulis was the Southern Conference Player of the Year, SEC Defensive Player of the Year and SEC Tournament MVP after averaging 17.3 points, 7.0 assists and 36.8 minutes per game for the Wildcats (27-9). He broke the school record for assists in a season set by John Wall with 246.

"I've coached a lot of great leaders and great point guards in all my years of coaching. Tyler Ulis is the best floor general that I've ever coached," Kentucky coach John Calipari said in a statement. "What I loved is he grew into that position. You couldn't speed him up and you couldn't slow him down unless he wanted to do one of those things. He coached the team this season as much as I did, and I'm proud to say that."