Spartans freshman Jackson turns pro

Jaren Jackson, the Big Ten’s defensive player of the year as a freshman for Michigan State, is leaving early for the NBA.

“Spartans, this was not an automatic decision,” he tweeted Monday. “And honestly, thank you for making it one of the toughest decisions I’ve ever had to think about. While playing in the NBA was always my dream and desire, I did not know the opportunity would present itself in quite this way. I’m ready to live my dreams and I cannot pass it up.”

Jackson also was the Big Ten freshman of the year, joining former Ohio State star Greg Oden as the only players in conference history to pull off the feat. Michigan State coach Tom Izzo expected Jackson to be a one-and-done player.

“It was a difficult decision for him, which is kind of neat,” Izzo said in a telephone interview. “He made the right decision, no doubt, because he’s just going to be too high of a pick. The more I’m hearing, he could go three or four (overall), and the ceiling seems to be five.”

The 6-foot-11, 242-pound Jackson blocked 106 shots, a season record for a Spartan, and swatted a Big Ten-best 3.03 shots per game. The forward averaged 10.9 points, 5.8 rebounds and made nearly 40 percent of the 96 3-pointers he attempted. His father, Jaren, played for the NBA champion San Antonio Spurs and had a 431-game career with many teams. His mother, Terri, is the director of operations for the Women’s National Basketball Players Association.

• Miami Hurricanes sophomore forward Dewan Huell decided to declare for the draft but won’t retain an agent, leaving him the option of continuing his college career.

Teammate Bruce Brown Jr., also a sophomore, made the same decision as Huell earlier.

The 6-11 Huell averaged 11.4 points and 6.6 rebounds this season and started all 32 games.

Players have until April 22 to enter the draft and until June 11 to withdraw. The draft is June 21.

• Clemson’s backcourt of Marcquise Reed and Shelton Mitchell decided to enter the draft.

Tigers coach Brad Brownell said neither player would hire an agent, meaning they could return for a final college season after getting evaluated by NBA personnel.

Reed was Clemson’s leading scorer this season at 15.8 points a game. Mitchell averaged 12.2 points per game and led the Tigers with 119 assists this season.