Purdue junior A.J. Hammons will skip the NBA draft this season and return to school for his senior campaign, the team has announced. The big man was a potential second-rounder if he entered this year’s draft, with Chad Ford of ESPN.com ranking him the No. 45 overall prospect, and Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress slotting him 51st.
“Earning my degree is one of the most important goals that I have for myself and returning to Purdue next year will enable me to reach that,” Hammons said. “In addition, I feel that our team has a lot of unfinished business to reach next season and I want to be a part of something special. Purdue is an outstanding school with great people and the chance to compete for a Big Ten Championship and more is something I want to experience again with my teammates.”
In 34 appearances for the Boilermakers last season, the seven-footer averaged 11.9 points, 6.6 rebounds, and 2.8 blocks in 24.3 minutes per game. His career numbers are 11.1 PPG, 6.7 RPG, and 2.6 BPG. Hammons’ career slash line is .516/.000/.684.