Draft Decisions: Hayes, Brooks, Newman

The deadline for NCAA underclassmen to withdraw from NBA draft consideration and retain their college eligibility is today at 11:59pm eastern time, and some prospects are taking that decision down to the wire. As Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com notes, there are 14 players who have yet to hire agents – signaling they’ll remain in the draft – or announce their intentions to return to their respective college teams. Those decisions will become public over the next 14 hours or so, but in the meantime, we have a few updates on underclassmen to pass along. Let’s dive in…

• Wisconsin forward Nigel Hayes has decided to return to school for his senior season, according to an Associated Press report (link via The Star Tribune). “Getting the opportunity to gather information about the NBA and visit with professionals at that level was a really valuable experience for me,” Hayes said. “Playing in the NBA still remains an important goal for me, but that can wait another year.”
• Oregon sophomore Dillon Brooks, who worked out for the Nuggets this past weekend, is expected to return to the Ducks for his junior year, sources tell Goodman. Brooks led Oregon in scoring this past season, with 16.7 points per game.
• Mississippi State guard Malik Newman will withdraw from the draft and retain his college eligibility, his father Horatio Webster tells Goodman. However, Newman may not return to the Bulldogs for the upcoming season — Goodman hears from multiple sources that the sophomore-to-be will “strongly consider” transferring to another D-1 school.
• Three players from Florida schools have withdrawn from the 2016 draft, according to Goodman, who tweets that Jahmal McMurray (South Florida), Dallas Moore (North Florida), and Marc-Eddy Norelia (Florida Gulf Coast) will return to their respective schools for the 2016/17 season.
• Be sure to check out our full list of early entrants for the 2016 draft, including those who have withdrawn from consideration.