Canada's Zach Edey withdraws from NBA draft, returning to Purdue for senior season
7-foot-4 centre from Toronto was named men's national player of the year
Toronto's Zach Edey decided it was the right call to return to Purdue instead of staying in the NBA draft.
The seven-foot-four Edey and UConn guard Tristen Newton were among the notable names to announce that they were withdrawing from the draft Wednesday, the NCAA's deadline for players who declared as early entrants to pull out and retain their college eligibility.
Edey's decision came Wednesday night, in social media posts from both the centre and the Boilermakers that earned a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament behind Edey, The Associated Press men's national player of the year.
Newton (10.1 points, 4.7 assists, 4.5 rebounds) returns after being one of four Huskies to declare for the draft after a run to UConn's fifth national championship in early April.
He scored a game-high 19 points to go with 10 rebounds in the victory over San Diego State in the title game.
The Huskies have 247sports' No. 3-ranked recruiting class for next year to restock the roster, led by McDonald's All-American point guard Stephon Castle.
The NBA's withdrawal deadline is June 12, but is moot when it comes to college players returning to school due to the NCAA's earlier timeline to retain playing eligibility.
