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Michigan guard DeVante Jones withdraws from NBA draft

FILE DeVante Jones Coastal Carolina
Posted at 4:28 PM, Jul 08, 2021
and last updated 2021-07-08 16:28:52-04

ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) — Michigan guard DeVante’ Jones, a transfer from Coastal Carolina, has withdrawn from the NBA draft.

“Thank you to all the NBA teams who gave me positive feedback and also to those who gave me constructive criticism all was needed,” Jones wrote Monday in a Twitter post. “With that being said I’ll be withdrawing from the draft and heading to Ann Arbor to finish the mission.”

The 6-foot-1, 200-pound Jones was the Sun Belt Conference Player of the Year last season. He averaged 20 points, 7.3 rebounds, 3.1 assists and three steals as a junior. Jones, who is from New Orleans, was the 2019 Sun Belt Freshman of the Year and was an all-conference player as a sophomore.

Michigan freshman center Hunter Dickinson entered the NBA draft, but the Big Ten Freshman of the Year left open the option of staying for his sophomore season.

The team is losing sophomore Franz Wagner, along with Isaiah Livers, Mike Smith, Chaundee Brown and Austin Davis from this season’s team. Eli Brooks is coming back, taking advantage of an extra year of eligibility the NCAA is allowing due to the pandemic.

The Wolverines, led by AP coach of the year Juwan Howard, fell one game short of the Final Four, suffering a two-point loss to UCLA.