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Sophomore center Jakob Poeltl will hold a press conference on Wednesday morning at the Utah basketball facility where it is expected he will announce his decision to enter into the NBA Draft.

Poeltl will be joined by coach Larry Krystkowiak for the 11 a.m. announcement.

A 7-foot center from Vienna, Austria,http://bit.ly/1AEPpM6";> who came to the Utes as a intriguing if unfamiliar prospect, Poeltl is graded as a lottery pick in this year's draft, according to Draft Express and ESPN. http://bit.ly/1RWVaQF";>He is positioned to be the first-ever NBA player from his native country.

After his freshman season, Poeltl flirted with the idea of going one-and-done to the NBA.http://bit.ly/1QVP2pw";> Fortunately for the Utes, he came back.

Poeltl was Utah's top threat in the paint this year, shooting over 64 percent from the field with a team-best 17.2 points per game and 9.1 rebounds per game. His scoring average nearly doubled, and he improved from a 44 percent free throw shooter to a 69 percent one.

For his efforts, he was richly rewarded with postseason honors: This month, he's received http://bit.ly/1ROvvaT";>the Pete Newell Big Man Award and http://bit.ly/1VFBd1m";>the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Award for top center in the country. He was also a consensus All-American and http://bit.ly/1R1dGSo";>the Pac-12 player of the year — the first Ute to earn the award in the conference.

With him at the center, Utah spun off a 27-9 season with top-10 wins over Duke and Arizona — Poeltl had double-doubles in both games, two of his 16 this season. He was Pac-12 player of the week a record four times.

Over the course of his two-year college career, Poeltl wound up with 931 points, 557 rebounds and 119 blocks. As a sophomore, he was the first Ute to score 600 points in a season since Andrew Bogut, the program's last lottery pick who went No. 1 overall.

Multiple media outlets reported last week http://hoopshype.com/rumor/1046298/";>that Poeltl and his family were meeting with agents. If Poeltl hires or has hired an agent, he won't be eligible to return to Utah.

Still, http://bit.ly/1T04gug";>the Utes have prepared for his departure: http://bit.ly/1O4M15Q";>Freshman center Jayce Johnson, 6-foot-11 enrolled early into the program last winter, and the Utes hope the consensus top-100 prospect will be prepared to replace some of Poeltl's rebounding and defensive ability. Transfer David Collette and redshirt freshman Makol Mawien are also pieces that could figure into Utah's center rotation.

Wednesday is also the beginning of the spring signing period for basketball, during which the Utes are expected to sign http://bit.ly/22VKRPI";>6-foot-10 Salt Lake Community College big man Tyler Rawson. The American Fork alum was an NJCAA All-American for the Bruins in their title run last month, and will compete for minutes at the power forward position.

kgoon@sltrib.com
Twitter: @kylegoon