Posted on: Tuesday, June 25, 2002

Sensley pulls out of NBA Draft

By Dayton Morinaga
Advertiser Staff Writer

Former Kalaheo High standout Julian Sensley is no longer an NBA Draft prospect.

At least not this year.

Sensley, a 6-foot-8, 235-pound forward, said he officially withdrew his name over the weekend from the list of early entries for tomorrow's NBA Draft.

"I just don't feel like I'm ready mentally," said Sensley, 19. "I feel like my physical game is ready for the next level, but mentally, I still need to grow."

Because he never hired an agent, Sensley did not jeopardize his college eligibility.

He said he will try to return to Fresno State for the upcoming fall semester. "But I'm still not certain what the situation is," he said. He enrolled at Fresno State last February, but never played for the Bulldogs.

Sensley said he has informed new Fresno State head coach Ray Lopes of his intent to return to the Bulldogs.

Because of past academic issues, Sensley may have to sit out at least the first half of the season if he returns to Fresno State. Unless he wins an appeal from the NCAA, Sensley would probably not be eligible to play until late December, at the earliest.

He said his other option would be to attend a junior college, possibly Community College of Southern Nevada, which is coached by George Tarkanian, son of recently retired Fresno State head coach Jerry Tarkanian.

"I just want to play somewhere and then try (the NBA Draft) again next year," said Sensley, who still resides in Kailua during the summer months.

He said the University of Hawai'i would not be an option.

"I thought about UH at one time, but I feel comfortable on the Mainland now," he said.

Sensley applied for early entry into the NBA Draft last month. He has been affiliated with four colleges over the last year — California, Diablo Valley (Calif.), Iona and Fresno State — but never played basketball at any of them because of academic reasons. Appeals to gain immediate eligibility were denied at Cal, Iona and Fresno State.

"None of those NBA (scouts) watched me play in a year," he said. "To them, I'm basically still a high school player."

Still, Sensley was one of 65 players invited to the NBA Pre-Draft Camp at Chicago earlier this month. He averaged around eight points and four rebounds in three scrimmages.

After the camp, Sensley said he was contacted by Dallas, Chicago, Toronto and Seattle, but declined to attend private workouts. "By then, I kind of already knew that I was going to withdraw," he said.

Sensley's name was not listed on any of the mock drafts across the Internet, and he was considered a long shot to be selected in the two rounds of tomorrow's draft.

Sensley said Chicago Bulls general manager Jerry Krause told him that one year of college basketball experience would make a huge difference.

"He said I could be a first-round pick next year if I had a good (collegiate) year," Sensley said. "He said I had the talent, but I needed to work on some other things."

Sensley was a first-team all-state selection as a sophomore and junior at Kalaheo in 1998 and '99. After his junior year, he transferred to St. Thomas More, a prep school in Connecticut. After two years there, he was considered one of the top recruits in the country.