Much to the chagrin of Kansas head coach Bill Self, forward Julian Wright made the decision Monday to enter the NBA draft, and skip his last two college basketball years. Julian Wright insists that money was not a factor in his decision.

““Money has never been my motivation, It’s not my family’s (motivation). Mostly, just playing and feeling like I’m able to advance my game to the next level. It’s not about the money. I’m just happy and grateful to have the opportunity.”

The former McDonalds all American did not hire an agent, so he would be eligible to return to Kansas before the draft. He’s known for having superior athleticism for a player of his size (6’8 inches tall, 225 pounds). He’s played numerous positions for Kansas, including point guard, small forward, and power forward. Wright’s announcement of entering the NBA draft was fairly unexpected, as he stated numerous times that he wouldn’t enter the NBA draft no matter his performance during his sophomore season.

Wright’s coach Bob Self did not seem too pleased at Wright’s entering the draft. In Wright’s highest scoring game this year, a 33 point effort, he went for a slam dunk and landed a mess under the rim. Coach Self immediately pulled him from the game, showing that Wright may have maturity issues. Said Coach Self at the press conference on Monday, ““Being very candid, if I was Julian and I was in this situation, I’m not sure I wouldn’t make this same decision, not a happy day, not a sad day, just a day, I think if you coach at a place like Kansas you’re going to have to deal with from time to time.”

Wright perhaps made the right decision on Monday. Despite his potential maturity issues and inconsistency, he needs a change of scenary from Coach Bill Self, and he has all the right tools to flourish in the NBA with hard work. Only time will tell if he can put his tools together to compose a succesful NBA rookie season campaign.