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Marcus Smart announces he’ll be declaring for the 2014 Draft?

Marcus Smart, Steven Pledger, Romero Osby

Oklahoma State guard Marcus Smart (33) shoots between Oklahoma guard Steven Pledger (2) and forward Romero Osby (24) in the first half of an NCAA college basketball game in Stillwater, Okla., Saturday, Feb. 16, 2013. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)

AP

Marcus Smart has declared for the 2014 NBA Draft.

Not officially, mind you.

It’s July. We still have more than 11 months until next year’s draft. NBA front office types are more concerned with their summer league rosters, who they’re inviting to training camp and whether or not they need to drop A-Rod off of their fantasy baseball team than worrying about who will and who won’t be in the 2014 NBA Draft.

But that doesn’t change the fact that Smart will be off to the NBA.

“It’s safe to say that if, by the grace of God I’m healthy and everything, this will be my last year at Oklahoma State,” Smart told Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports after Team USA’s minicamp in Las Vegas on Tuesday. Smart is one of two collegians partaking in the event, along with Creighton’s Doug McDermott. “Nothing will change my mind on that. [Oklahoma State] understands. They didn’t figure I was coming back this year. They were just as surprised as everyone else.”

Smart is right; is was a massive surprise when he made the decision to return to school. But it was a refreshing decision, one that wasn’t rooted simply in chasing the money and had more to do with the fact that Smart simply wasn’t ready to deal with the rigors of being a professional. He wanted another year of being a college kid before after to deal with the real world.

Remember, a 15 year career will be much more lucrative than earning a couple of million bucks extra on your first contract but flaming out of the league in three years.

“You can only go to college and be a college athlete once,” he told Spears. “College is a great experience. This is where you have fun. This is where you find yourself as a young man and grow up into an adult before you enter the real world.

“The NBA is the real world. Everyone just sees the entertainment part, but there is a business part to it also.”

You can find Rob on twitter @RobDauster.