MANHATTAN, Kan. | Kansas State freshman Michael Beasley giggled like a kid, as he did so often this season, and you could almost hear those times this winter when he spoke about SpongeBob SquarePants, his love for macaroni and cheese or how he used a water pistol to soak his roommate.</p><p>On Monday, Beasley officially became an adult in the basketball world.</p><p>An All-America forward, Beasley announced he is headed for the NBA after one year at K-State. But right up to the very end, he proved he&#8217;s still the same kid. When K-State spokesman Tom Gilbert asked him whether he was ready to begin his news conference, Beasley said &#8220;no&#8221; and burst into uncontrollable laughter.</p><p>But this is no joke &#8212; K-State may be losing freshman Bill Walker, too. Wildcats coach Frank Martin said Walker also has declared for the NBA draft but will not hire an agent, meaning he can withdraw his name before the draft and return to K-State. Beasley, projected by many as the future No. 1 pick, is working with agent Joel Bell, though he hasn&#8217;t signed with him yet, his mother, Fatima Smith, said.</p><p>&#8220;It&#8217;s time for me to take my game to the next level,&#8221; said Beasley, who averaged 26.2 points and 12.4 rebounds per game, holds 30 school records, multiple Big 12 marks and six NCAA single-season bests for 2007-08. &#8220;I proved myself over the course of the season. It&#8217;s time for new challenges.&#8221;</p><p>Martin never tried to stand in his way.</p><p>&#8220;Like I told him, if I had a son his age that was the best player in college basketball, I&#8217;d tell him he&#8217;s got to go,&#8221; Martin said.</p><p>Beasley stands to be the first K-State player chosen in the NBA draft, held June 26 in New York City, in 18 years. Guard Steve Henson went in the second round to the Milwaukee Bucks in 1990, and the Wildcats haven&#8217;t had a first-round pick since Golden State selected Mitch Richmond as the fifth overall choice in 1988.</p><p>Lottery picks get three-year guaranteed contracts, and the No. 1 overall pick will receive $4,019,000 his first season; $4,320,400 the second; and $4,621,800 the third. The No. 2 pick gets $3,595,800 that first season.</p><p>Bell, who is based in Gaithersburg, Md., said he expects talks to start as early as today about potential endorsement deals for Beasley.</p><p>&#8220;We&#8217;re going to speak to a variety of companies, whether it&#8217;s shoes, trading cards, beverages, etc., etc., and I anticipate there&#8217;s going to be great interest,&#8221; Bell said.</p><p>The show-me-the-money possibilities enticed Beasley as much as anything.</p><p>&#8220;It&#8217;s the right decision for me and my family financially,&#8221; he said. &#8220;I can take care of my family, make sure our lives are better.&#8221;</p><p>Still, Beasley insisted it wasn&#8217;t a no-brainer to leave K-State. Beasley said Sunday night that he was leaning toward remaining a Wildcat. On Monday morning, he was ready to move on.</p><p>&#8220;He even came to the house (Monday) and said, &#8216;Ma, I need help.&#8217; Not only did he need help ironing his clothes, but he really still wanted to talk,&#8221; Smith said. &#8220;I said, &#8216;Michael, when you make a decision, you&#8217;ll know in your heart that it&#8217;s the right time,&#8217; and it was the right time.&#8221;</p><p>Beasley surfaced right on schedule to change K-State&#8217;s fortunes. His impact will last for years, according to Martin, and that includes recruiting.</p><p>&#8220;It would be a lot more difficult moving forward if he never played here, I can tell you that,&#8221; said Martin, who guided the Wildcats to their first NCAA Tournament appearance in 12 years. &#8220;Mike has opened doors for us in the world of college basketball that a year ago were not open for us. He&#8217;s going to represent Kansas State basketball for the next 15 years, 82 times a season.