Pitt sophomore All-American DeJuan Blair is declaring for the NBA draft and will not be eligible to return to school after hiring Pittsburgh attorney James Cook this morning.

Blair signed a marketing and advertising contract with Cook, who will help Blair hire an NBA certified agent later in the process. But by signing a marketing and advertising contract with Cook, Blair is foregoing his final two years of eligibility to turn professional.

"I'm in," Blair said. "There is no turning back. I don't think you should go halfway into this situation. I'm guaranteed being a first-round pick. I'm going to work hard to get to where I want to be. I control my destination.

In two seasons at Pitt, Blair scored 979 points and pulled down 769 rebounds. He was the Big East co-player of the year this season as well as a first-team All-American for every major publication.

"I did everything an individual can do," Blair said. "I had a heck of an individual year just like we had a heck of a team year. I got All-American. I got Big East player of the year. I was first-team everything. When you have a year like that then you don't need to come back. You could, but you could always come back and get paid for what you want to do. This smile will really be worth a million dollars. That will be cool."