Terrence Jones Withdraws From Draft, Will Stay At UK

John Calipari's third University of Kentucky basketball team will have something his first two lacked: star sophomores.
Forward Terrence Jones announced Saturday that he'll withdraw from the NBA draft and return for his sophomore year at UK.
He joins Doron Lamb as high-profile freshmen to eschew the one-and-done approach under Calipari, who lost freshmen John Wall, DeMarcus Cousins, Eric Bledsoe and Daniel Orton to the draft last season.
Jones is the biggest name to return for a second season at Kentucky under Calipari. The 6-foot-8 Southeastern Conference Freshman of the Year averaged 15.7 points and a team-high 8.8 rebounds in helping lead the Wildcats to the NCAA Final Four, where they lost to Connecticut in a national semifinal.
“Last year was an unbelievable experience, but we left a lot on the table,” Jones said in a release. “I've decided to come back and help us get back to the Final Four and bring the Big Blue Nation a national championship.”
Underclassmen have until today to withdraw from the draft, per NCAA rules. Junior DeAndre Liggins, who declared himself eligible for the draft but has not signed an agent, is the only UK player who has yet to declare his intentions.
Liggins attended a workout sponsored by the New Jersey Nets this weekend.
UK freshman Brandon Knight announced on Friday that he would remain in the draft. Knight is a projected top-10 pick, and Jones was a projected first-round pick if he'd remained in the June 23 draft.
But while Knight received feedback at last week's “Kentucky Combine” that those projections were accurate, there was some question about how high Jones would be selected.
Jones showed flashes of dominance during his freshman season, but he slumped as the season progressed. Defenses began to focus additional attention on him. As Knight flourished, Jones became a less critical part of the Cats' offense.

“I'm very happy for Terrence and his family because he did the right thing for his future, but he had to come to that conclusion (on his own),” Calipari said in a release. “He told me he wanted to continue enjoying the college experience, and I told him that was fine by me.”