Former Taft High star Spencer Dinwiddie to enter NBA draft

Colorado junior guard Spencer Dinwiddie, who helped the Buffaloes open the season with a 14-2 record and a victory over highly regarded Kansas before he sustained a season-ending knee injury, has announced that he will forgo his senior season and enter the NBA draft.

Dinwiddie, a 6-foot-6 swing player who helped Taft High in Woodland Hills win the 2011 L.A. City Section championship, averaged 14.7 points, 3.8 assists, 3.1 rebounds and 1.5 steals a game last season after averaging 15.3 points, 3.0 assists, 3.2 rebounds and 1.3 steals as a sophomore.

Dinwiddie tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee during a Pac-12 Conference game against Washington on Jan. 12. The Buffaloes went 7-8 the rest of the season, limping into the NCAA tournament.

“I have first-round talent across the board,” Dinwiddie said at a news conference on Thursday. “A lot of people are, of course, going to doubt my knee. Whoever I play for is going to get Spencer Dinwiddie, not Spencer Dinwiddie with a bad knee.”

Dinwiddie, who is largely projected as a second-round selection, said plenty of teams showed interest in him.

“I got a lot of interest from the league,” Dinwiddie said. “Everybody likes what I bring to the table. ... It was the best for me and my future.”