Utah is looking to life after Bogut

The Utah basketball team may never see another player like Andrew Bogut.

Not that he's necessarily the best player to ever play at Utah.

Keith Van Horn, Andre Miller, Billy McGill and Arnie Ferrin would have something to say about that.

But the Utes may never again have a national player of the year and No. 1 draft pick, both possibilities for the 20-year-old Australian.

Bogut isn't coming back next year, although he won't make an official announcement until sometime later this week.

For weeks, Bogut has hinted about the likelihood of forgoing his junior and senior seasons but preferred not to make a definitive announcement. According to more than one source, Bogut is not going to return to Utah next season and will declare for this summer's NBA Draft.

Like Utah quarterback Alex Smith, who chose to forgo his senior season for the Utah football team, Bogut is leaving while he's a hot commodity.

He's already made several All-American teams and has been named player of the year by ESPN.com and Basketball Times. He was the leading vote-getter on The Associated Press' All-American team and could be AP's player of the year.

There's a good chance he'll earn one of the top two national awards, the Naismith Award, which will be announced next Sunday at the Final Four in St. Louis and the John R. Wooden Award, which will be revealed on April 9 in Los Angeles.

In late June comes the NBA Draft. Bogut will definitely be a lottery pick, likely a top-three pick and possibly be the No. 1 pick.

Utah coach Ray Giacoletti didn't come right out and say it Friday night, but he's not planning on his big center returning.

"If he is going to be a top-three pick . . . I would hug him and wish him the best of luck."

Once he was named as the Ute coach last April, Giacoletti helped convince Bogut to stick around at Utah one more year. He didn't expect anything more, and as things turned out, couldn't have asked for anything more from Bogut.