Brandon Knight will be keeping his name in the NBA Draft, an opportunity he couldn’t pass up.

“This past year was a great experience for me,” Knight said. “It was everything I hoped for and more when I came to Kentucky.”

Knight developed his leadership abilities and point guard play in a year in which he developed into the featured player for UK.

Knight is considered a top-10 pick, and at the Kentucky Combine held Monday and Tuesday, he heard what he needed to hear.

“After the combine, after getting a lot of positive feedback and a lot of positive reinforcement from Coach Cal, that’s when I made the decision to keep my name in the NBA Draft,” Knight said. “My main goal was to be a top-10 pick. Nothing’s for sure in the draft, but I wanted to hear something like that in the feedback.”

Knight led UK with 35.9 minutes and 17.4 points per game, and emerged as UK’s go-to guy in the closing minutes, making last-second shots against Princeton and Ohio State in the NCAA Tournament. While some considered his position in the NBA to be closer to a combo guard or shooting guard, Knight said he will be a point guard.

“As far as I know, definitely a point guard,” Knight said. “That’s what I’ve been training to be. That’s what makes me attractive as a point guard, I can score the ball.”

Knight said the possibility of an NBA lockout did factor into his decision, but he couldn’t pass up the opportunity.

“It affected my decision a little bit, you have to think about it,” Knight said. “But the possibility of being a top-10 pick, you don’t get that opportunity all the time.”

The decision has been slowly shaping up as Knight kept getting feedback. He said he is still in the process of hiring an agent.

“It wasn’t really that hectic,” Knight said of the leadup to the announcement. “The main thing for me has just been working out, make sure I’m staying in shape, making sure I was prepared to go into the Combine.”

Knight said he definitely considered returning. He said getting to the Final Four but not winning the championship made the decision harder, and knowing the class of freshmen coming in next year was on his mind. But, ultimately, being a top-10 pick was something he couldn’t put off.

“You come here [to Kentucky] and just see what happens,” Knight said. “And the opportunity was here.”