UCLA’s Love intends to enter NBA draft

UCLA’s star freshman center Kevin Love announced today he is making himself available for the NBA draft.

“I’m in the right spot to take my game to the next level,” Love said in a news conference at UCLA, calling his time there the best year of his life. “It has truly been special.”

He said he will not immediately hire an agent, and will continue taking classes at UCLA.

Love said he wants to take after UCLA legends Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Bill Walton and Jackie Robinson, and leave a legacy both on the court and off.

He said he also consulted former Bruin coach John Wooden in making his decision.

The defection could be part of an exodus by Bruins.

Sophomore guard Russell Westbrook is expected to announce his availability for the draft at a 2 p.m. news conference.

Junior guard Darren Collison is also weighing his options. Collison’s mother, June, said her son “has 10 more days to make a decision, and, knowing Darren, that’s what he’ll do: take all 10 days. He’s very methodical in his decision-making. It doesn’t matter who stays or goes. He’ll make his own decision.”

UCLA Coach Ben Howland, who attended Love’s news conference with Love’s father, Stan, himself a former NBA player, said Kevin would never have gone to UCLA if the NBA hadn’t barred players from signing straight out of high school.

“I’m not complaining about the problem of guys that are good enough to leave early, it just makes it difficult to plan for the future,” Howland said. “I’m sure our opponents will be understanding.”

In declining to immediately hire an agent, Love may have considered the cautionary tale of Kansas’ Brandon Rush. Howland has mentioned the case to his players; Rush declared for the NBA draft, but didn’t hire an agent, then injured his knee while working out before the draft. He then chose to retain his college eligibility, and was able to come back at midseason this year to a team that went on to win the NCAA championship.

Love led the Bruins in scoring (17.5) and rebounding (10.6) while becoming the Pacific 10 Conference player of the year and first-team All-American. The Bruins advanced to their third consecutive Final Four, losing to national runner-up Memphis.

Last week, Love returned home to Lake Oswego, Ore., to discuss his future with his family. His father played four years in the NBA.

Last week, Howland said his research indicated Love could be taken as high as fourth in the June 26 draft and most pre-draft predictions have Love being taken between No. 5 and No. 12.

Times staff writers Diane Pucin, Dan Arritt and Chris Foster contributed to this report.