Nigel Hayes’ time as a Badger isn’t done quite yet.
Hayes will withdraw his name from the 2016 NBA draft and return to Wisconsin for his senior season, the Wisconsin State Journal’s Jim Polzin reported Tuesday night.
“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 in a statement. “Playing in the NBA still remains an important goal for me, but that can wait another year. I’m excited to get back to work to pursue that dream, as well as the dream of getting my degree and helping my teammates, my brothers, bring a championship to Wisconsin.”
With the 6-foot-7 forward making his return to Madison for the 2016-’17 season, the Badgers will be returning every major contributor from last year’s team that made an improbable mid-season turnaround culminating in their fifth trip to the Sweet Sixteen in the last six years.
Hayes led the team in a number of categories, including points per game (15.7), assists per game (3.0) and minutes per game (36.2). However, he did see a significant dip in his shooting percentages. After posting a 49.7 field goal percentage and a 39.6 3-point percentage during his sophomore season, Hayes saw those numbers fall to 36.8 and 29.3 percent, respectively, this past year.
Though he entered his junior year projected as high as a first-round pick in some mock drafts, Hayes saw his stock fall over the past year. An NCAA rule change gave underclassmen an extended deadline to forgo their remaining collegiate eligibility and declare for the NBA draft, and Hayes had until Wednesday to make his final decision.
Hayes took advantage of this new rule and attended the NBA draft combine in Chicago earlier this month. However, his performance there wasn’t enough to convince scouts that he was ready to make the leap, according to ESPN college basketball reporter Jeff Goodman.
Two guys nearly every NBA guy I have spoken to here at Combine agree need to go back to school: Melo Trimble and Nigel Hayes.
— Jeff Goodman (@GoodmanESPN) May 13, 2016
ESPN draft insider Chad Ford expressed similar sentiments, including Hayes among the list of prospects who he felt should return to college for another year.
The All-Go-Back-To-School Team: Melo Trimble, Nigel Hayes, Caleb Swanigan, Marcus Lee, Dedric Lawson, Troy Williams, Justin Jackson
— Chad Ford (@chadfordinsider) May 13, 2016
Hayes’ return means the Badgers will lose only Jordan Smith from last year’s team. UW will also bring back starting guards Bronson Koenig and Zak Showalter and starting forwards Vitto Brown and Ethan Happ. Key bench players Jordan Hill, Khalil Iverson, Charlie Thomas and Alex Illikainen will all be back as well, and Belgium native Andy Van Vliet will make his collegiate debut after sitting out last season due to an eligibility issue.
With Hayes, a consensus all-Big Ten first-team selection last year, rounding out the roster, Wisconsin is poised to be a favorite to win the Big Ten title, a possible preseason top-10 team and could have all the pieces in place to make a deep NCAA Tournament run in Greg Gard’s first full season as head coach.
