Michigan Wolverines basketball center Hunter Dickinson will withdraw from the NBA Draft and return to U-M for his sophomore year, his representatives confirmed today.
Dickinson has worked out for several teams and took part in the NBA G-League Elite Camp, but he didn't get the coveted NBA Combine offer. He played well in two games, but was waiting for a first- or early second-round guarantee from a team that didn't come.
ITF EXTRA — Dickinson, The Incoming Freshmen (wow!) and more ...
Dickinson was the Big Ten freshman of the year last season and a second-team All-American. His return makes the Wolverines one of the preseason favorites to win the conference for a second year in a row.
“I just thought it was the best decision for me because of the exposure,” Dickinson told The Wolverine from the G-League camp. “I feel like it’s really a win-win for me. Whatever I do, whether I go back or go professional, I think I’m in a great spot right now with being able to have both options open. I’m trying to do the best I can to see what path is best for me.
“They like what I’m doing, like how I’ve progressed. They already know I have my back to the basket game. They want to see me continue to expand my game. They like how I’m moving out there and are just impressed with me so far."
He'll do his improving this year at Michigan, probably his last in a Wolverines uniform.
"Where I am, where I stand with NBA teams … I don’t want to be somebody who will go undrafted or late second round," he said. "I want to be somebody who is a big priority for an NBA team; I want some commitment from them, to be somewhere higher on their boards. That might make me go, but coming back is always an option.”
And it's now the only option. He expects to make the most of it.
“Obviously, we had higher goals than the Elite Eight, but if you really look back on it, people were expecting us to be a middle of the pack team and we end up being the best team in the Big Ten and one of final eight schools in the country,” he said. “That’s something to be proud of. I think we really set a really good foundation for the rest of Michigan basketball under coach [Juwan] Howard.
“As a competitor, losing how we did last year was not fun. I probably think about it every day since it happened. It definitely still kind of bites on me, how we lost and how we can try to avenge it. I’m not pressed to leave, not forcing myself to leave. I love Michigan, have loved my time there. Another year there would be a lot of fun. I love coach Howard, my teammates … love every bit of Michigan.”
Watch for more on this decision in the hours to come ...
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