Mississippi State's Arnett Moultrie heading to the NBA

Arnett Moultrie transferred from UTEP to Mississippi State after his sophomore season to garner more attention and boost his NBA draft stock.

It worked, as Moultrie averaged a double-double for the Bulldogs and was getting All-American looks before their late-season swoon. He will now try to take advantage of his raised profile.

On Friday, Moultrie informed Jeff Goodman of CBSSports.com that he would head to the NBA draft.

Mississippi State will look very different next season, with former Clemson assistant coach Rick Ray replacing Rick Stansbury as athe Bulldogs' head coach. Moultrie, Renardo Sidney and Dee Bost are all gone, as are Brian Bryant and Deville Smith. Jalen Steele and Rodney Hood are the top returnees, along with inside man Wendell Lewis. A solid three-man recruiting class will need to make an immediate impact.

Moultrie is projected as a mid-to-late first-round pick, as a 6-foot-11 forward who can also step out and knock down shots. He averaged 15.8 points and 10.6 rebounds this season for Mississippi State.

He was also responsible for one of the best quotes of the season. During a late-February losing streak, Moultrie was asked if the team had it in them to turn things around and get to the NCAA tournament.

Moultrie's response? “Maybe not. Probably not.”

He ended up being right, as Mississippi State ended up losing in the opening round of the SEC tournament and then in the first round of the NIT.

Moultrie hopes he's right about the NBA as well.