Freshman center Dakari Johnson and sophomore forward Alex Poythress have decided! They will forgo the NBA draft and return to UK next season.
Johnson said “Returning to school allows me to build on my leadership skills, improve my individual basketball strength and conditioning skills, and have another opportunity to accomplish one of my individual goals: winning an NCAA national championship in college.”
The 7-foot center started 18 of Kentucky’s last 20 games, averaging 5.8 points and 4.6 rebounds per game during that stretch.
Poythress said professional basketball is in his future, just not this year "Playing in the NBA has always been a dream of mine, but I want to make sure that I'm NBA-ready before I make that jump," Poythress said. "By coming back, I'll be so much closer to earning my degree in business and it will give me another year to prepare my game and my body for the next level."
The 6-foot-8 forward averaged 5.9 points and 4.5 rebounds in helping lead the Wildcats to the NCAA title game.
Fellow sophomore Willie Cauley-Stein and freshman Marcus Lee have also announced they will return to UK next season. Freshman Julius Randle has decided he will enter the NBA draft this year.