North Carolina's Luke Maye withdraws from the NBA Draft and will return for his senior season

Maye averaged 16.9 points and 10.1 rebounds as a junior for the Tar Heels last season

By Kyle Boone

May 24, 2018 at 11:55 am ET • 1 min read

UNC forward Luke Maye announced Thursday that he is withdrawing his name from the 2018 NBA Draft and plans to return for his senior season. Maye had entered the draft without an agent to afford himself the opportunity to either remain in the draft and eventually sign with an agent or return to school, and he chose the latter.

"I have had a great experience learning from the NBA process and growing as a basketball player during the past couple weeks," Maye said of his decision in an Instagram post. "I would like to thank my family, friends, coaches and teammates for all of their support. Through this process, I have decided that I am going to comeback to school to improve as a player and finish my college career."

"I am looking forward to the opportunities and challenges that I will face and there is no better group to do it with than my teammates and the Carolina family! Time to finish the right way with two of the best players and leaders that I know! Let's finish our legacy the right way!#RoadtoMinneapolis"

I have had a great experience learning from the NBA process and growing as a basketball player during the past couple weeks. I would like to thank my family, friends, coaches and teammates for all of their support. Through this process, I have decided that I am going to comeback to school to improve as a player and finish my college career. I am looking forward to the opportunities and challenges that I will face and there is no better group to do it with than my teammates and the Carolina family! Time to finish the right way with two of the best players and leaders that I know! Let’s finish our legacy the right way!#RoadtoMinneapolis
A post shared by Luke Maye (@luke_maye32) on May 24, 2018 at 5:34am PDT

Maye made a huge leap for the Tar Heels as a junior last season, averaging 16.9 points and 10.1 rebounds per game in leading North Carolina to a 26-11 record. He also expanded his game as a floor-spacer by shooting 43.1 percent from the 3-point line, showing remarkable improvement from a sophomore campaign that saw him average only 5.5 points and 3.9 rebounds per game.

North Carolina loses seniors Joel Berry and Theo Pinson from its experienced squad last season that fell shy of a Sweet 16 appearance, but returns Cam Johnson, Kenny Williams and Sterling Manley. Top-5 national recruit Nassir Little will also be a welcomed addition for a Tar Heels team that currently ranks No. 9 in the CBS Sports Top 25 (and one) and has high expectations of potentially making it to the Final Four for a third time in four seasons.