BREAKING NEWS: Harden to Declare for Draft

We all knew it was coming...now it is official. James Harden is heading to the NBA.

Arizona Republic basketball beat writer Doug Haller is reporting that Harden will enter the NBA Draft, with an official announcement coming tomorrow. He also reports that the 19-year-old is working on hiring representation, ending his chance to come back to ASU.

You can't blame Harden for going to the draft, hard to pass up being a Top 5 selection, in a weak draft class. NBADraft.net currently has Harden going #4 overall to the Memphis Grizzlies.

Russell Westbrook was the #4 selection in last year's draft and his first year contract was $3.5 million. Harden will receive a similar deal to Westbrook, which has the first two years guaranteed at $7.3 million and then up to $23 million dollars in team options.

It is sad that James will always be remembered at ASU for his poor showing in the tournament, when the Devils never would have been near the dance without him. I don't know if there has been a player recently that has had the kind of impact that James Harden had in Tempe. He took a team that won 2 games in the Pac 10 the year before he came and led them to back to back 20 win seasons and was a few calls away from being Pac 10 Champions. James Harden is the best player to ever play basketball in Tempe and should forever be remembered as the kid that brought basketball back to Arizona St.

Personally, I will forever remember the time I got to watch and cover to James Harden here at ASU. It is not everyday you get to know a player of his caliber, that is a great person a well. His impact on ASU will not be felt until down the road, once the practice facility is up and Sendek begins to pull in top recruits.

And by the way...he went 5-0 against Arizona. Good luck James.