UCLA’s Mbah a Moute decides to keep name in NBA draft

Luc Richard Mbah a Moute, a starter on three UCLA Final Four basketball teams, said Monday he would hire an agent and forgo his final year of college eligibility in favor of entering the NBA draft.

Mbah a Moute is projected by most experts to be chosen about midway through the second round, where a guaranteed contract isn’t likely, but he said he is convinced he will be on an NBA roster next season.

“I feel like I had a good career at UCLA,” Mbah a Moute said. “Now I feel like I want to take on a new challenge.”

Mbah a Moute, a 6-foot-8, 230-pound forward, didn’t start playing basketball until he was 15 in his native Cameroon. Last season, he averaged 8.8 points and 6.0 rebounds.

In the last few weeks Mbah a Moute has had private workouts with Chicago, Milwaukee, Charlotte and Dallas and is scheduled next for Portland and Detroit. “I’m hearing I could go anywhere from late in the first round to late in the second round,” Mbah a Moute said, “and I’m feeling really good after my workouts so far.”

UCLA Coach Ben Howland said Mbah a Moute called him Monday afternoon with the news.

“Luc made his own decision based on all the information he had gathered,” Howland said. “It looks like he’s slated to be a second-rounder, and I hope he gets drafted by the right team that will truly appreciate his strengths. He’s special for me.”

Said Mbah a Moute: “Coach said he wished I would have stayed another year and won a national championship. I’ll always feel like winning a championship would have been the best, and that’s the only thing I regret about this decision. But I feel like I’ve done a lot, played in a lot of winning games.”

Mbah a Moute was the first player since Michigan State’s Andre Hutson and Charlie Bell (1999-2001) to start in three consecutive Final Fours. He was the first Bruins player to do it since Bill Walton, Jamaal Wilkes and Greg Lee (1972-74).

Monday was the deadline for college players to withdraw their names from NBA consideration and still retain NCAA eligibility. Most did exactly that.

Guard Josh Akognon will return to Cal State Fullerton, where he led the Titans with a 20.2 scoring average last season. Also, Chase Budinger decided to stay at Arizona, and it was announced that Ty Lawson, Danny Green and Wayne Ellington would all return to North Carolina.

diane.pucin@latimes.com