Following other freshmen for whom declaring for the NBA draft was not a surprise -- Eric Gordon, O.J. Mayo, Michael Beasley and Derrick Rose -- Kevin Love added his name to the list. Unlike the others, though, Love is still leaving a return to Westwood open by waiting to hire an agent.

Love is likely a top-ten draft pick. Where in the draft and what kind of player he will be in the NBA is still a subject of much debate.

Love, though, is apparently just the first UCLA player to at least dip a toe in the NBA Draft waters. Sophomore guard Russell Westbrook also made it known that he will put his name in the NBA Draft sans an agent. But, that still may not be all.

Junior forward Luc Richard Mbah a Moute delayed a scheduled news conference appearance with Westbrook and is expected to have a final decision on his future by the weekend, a UCLA men's basketball spokesman said.

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 has a top recruiting class coming into 2008 (#1 according to Scout.com and #2 by Rivals.com), but it's safe to assume that Coach Ben Howland would not like to see all 4 signees thrust into the starting line-up from day one.

Just three days after losing to Memphis in the NCAA Tournament semifinals, UCLA's Kevin Love and Darren Collison are reportedly entering the NBA Draft.

The Los Angeles Times reported on Tuesday that Kevin Love and Darren Collison have both decided to make themselves available for June's NBA draft. Citing sources close to the players, the newspaper said that Love and Collison told coach Ben Howland of their decisions in separate meetings.

The newspaper reported that the two will hire agents, making them ineligible to return to the Bruins next season.

According to NBADraft.net, Love is projected to go in the back end of the lottery (in the 10-15 range), while Collison is around the #20 slot. Many people, including bloggers here at FanHouse, have speculated about what kind of career Love will have in the NBA. Some feel he could be a long-time starter ... while others feel he'll be a bust.

Interestingly, they have Russell Westbrook at the #9 pick ... and he hasn't declared for the draft. Yet.

Brooks of Sports by Brooks has been on the scene at the Final Four, and this might be the most stunning thing I've seen coming out of San Antonio.

That's the actual view (click here for a larger picture) from a seat in section 330 at the Alamodome. The cost of that ticket? $275.

I'm having a hard time understanding how anyone could possibly want to spend $275 to watch the game from there. Wouldn't you rather go out and buy a 15-inch LCD TV and watch the game on that? The cost would be about the same. And, you know, afterwards you've still got the TV.

My favorite thing about it is the way the seat is described on the ticket: Under "Section," it says "Upper Level Distant." You can't say they didn't warn you.

Memphis beat UCLA 78-63 in the first of today's Final Four games, advancing to the NCAA Tournament championship game.

Chris Douglas-Roberts was outstanding for Memphis, scoring 28 points on 9 of 17 shooting. Derrick Rose scored 25.

"This is a dream team," coach John Calipari said of his club on the floor afterward. They certainly looked that way tonight.

Russell Westbrook scored 22 to lead UCLA. Star freshman center Kevin Love had a big first half but was a non-factor in the second.

After a slow start early on, the Tigers rolled through much of the first half, pushing the pace and taking a halftime lead. In the second half it was all Memphis, and the last few minutes of the game were just garbage time. UCLA is a very good team, but Memphis is undoubtedly a better one.

Next up for Memphis is the North Carolina-Kansas winner, and either way, we should see a great title game, with the two best teams in the country on the floor.

Memphis got off to an impressive start against UCLA in this evening's first Final Four game, pushing the pace and taking a 38-35 lead into the locker room at halftime.

UCLA had an early 10-6 lead and appeared to be the more focused team, but since then it's been a solid all-around performance by Memphis. The Tigers took a seven-point lead and held the margin in that range for much of the half, although a couple of sloppy Memphis plays allowed UCLA to score four points in the final minute of the half to make things closer.

Chris Douglas-Roberts is leading the way with 13 points for Memphis on 5-of-9 shooting, while Derrick Rose has chipped in 11. Russell Westbrook has led UCLA with 11; Kevin Love has 10. Joey Dorsey and Shawn Taggart have two fouls apiece for Memphis and no one else on either team has more than one.

Davidson's Stephen Curry continues to make the media rounds as the biggest star of this year's NCAA Tournament, and his latest stop was on Conan O'Brien:

Conan asked Curry for his Final Four predictions, and I was pleasantly surprised that he didn't just give the cliched answer about all four teams being great. Instead, Curry actually offered an opinion:

"We've played three of the four Final Four teams, so I have pretty good experience with all of them," Curry said. "I think UNC's going to take it, just because of [Tyler] Hansbrough and the amount of depth they have on the floor. I think it's going to be UNC and UCLA in the championship and I think UNC will take it."

Replied Conan, "I'm going to put a lot of money on that and then come looking for you if it doesn't happen."

Here's a name you haven't thought of in a while: Larry Brown.

Well, this year's Final Four has quite a connection to Brown, who has coached pretty much everywhere. Including three of the teams in San Antonio.

Brown was an All-American at North Carolina (his jersey hangs in the rafters of the Dean Smith Center). He would later be an assistant coach under Smith. As a head coach, Brown led Kansas to their last National Championship in 1988 and led UCLA to the 1980 NCAA title game. While at Kansas, current Memphis coach John Calipari was an assistant under Brown.

Brown also gave current Kansas coach Bill Self his first coaching gig ... and helped induct UNC coach Roy Williams into the Basketball Hall of Fame this past summer.

Oh, and the site of the Final Four is San Antonio ... where Brown coached the NBA's Spurs in the early 1990s.

So who is Brown rooting for in the Final Four?

"When one team wins, then three teams that mean a lot to me will be pretty upset," Brown said yesterday before beginning his trek to San Antonio.

"I've got to really be careful about this," Brown said. "I'm just proud of all the programs."

"I think I've got a spot on each corner," he said.

The Associated Press All-American team was announced today, and it's notable mostly for who didn't make it: For the first time ever, there are no senior All-Americans.

Instead, the team consists of UCLA freshman center Kevin Love, Kansas State freshman forward Michael Beasley, Texas sophomore guard D.J. Augustin, North Carolina junior forward Tyler Hansbrough and Memphis junior guard Chris Douglas-Roberts. Beasley and Hansbrough were unanimous selections.

Three seniors -- Shan Foster of Vanderbilt, D.J. White of Indiana and Roy Hibbert of Georgetown -- made the second team, but the absence of any seniors on the first team is a reminder of how much college basketball has changed. The most talented players just don't stick around until their senior seasons, and many of the best players wouldn't play college basketball at all if not for the NBA's minimum age rule. I don't know if we'll ever see a five-freshman All-American team, but I feel confident saying this isn't the last time we'll see a zero-senior All-American team.

When Kansas edged out Davidson in the last of the four NCAA mens' regional finals yesterday, they didn't just lock up an All-#1 Seed Final Four. The Jayhawks victory over the upstart Wildcats also managed to secure the first Swoosh-free Final Four since the early '80s.

Nike, Inc. will be represented -- in the form of the Brand Jordan-sponsored Tar Heels. But there will be none of the iconic Nike trademark that has been the mainstay of Final Four games for more than twenty years; round-of-eight losses by Texas, Xavier, and the aforementioned Wildcats of Davidson secured that fate. Worse yet for The House That Phil Knight Built, the three schools playing in San Antonio besides Carolina will all be bearing the mark of their main rival, Adidas.

Yesterday Michael David Smith asked if Xavier could control Kevin Love in last night's Elite Eight matchup. The answer came back with a resounding no, which shouldn't come as too much of a shock at this point. Love doesn't appear to be stoppable by anyone in the college game right now. Without a doubt, part of the reason is his enviable shooting range.

The only thing Love can't seem to do is convince NBA scouts of his bona fides.

(H/T College Hoops Journal)