Harden Leaves ASU for NBA

Excerpt from ESPN:

All-America guard James Harden is leaving Arizona State for the NBA.

The 6-foot-5 sophomore and Pac-10 player of the year will hire an agent, ending any chance of returning to the Sun Devils.

"I felt I'm ready for it as far as taking my game to the next level," he said at a news conference Wednesday. "It's a dream come true. It's my dream since I put a ball in my hand, so why not take the opportunity?"

Harden, who led the Pac-10 in scoring at 20.1 points per game and was the first Arizona State player to be named a first-team AP All-American, said the decision to declare for the draft wasn't as automatic as many perceived.