Lincoln – Andrew White III announced Wednesday evening that he has withdrawn from the NBA Draft and will return for his senior season at the University of Nebraska.
“I felt good about the pre-draft process, White said. “It was encouraging, and I gained as much ground as anyone throughout the process. I wanted one more year to fine tune my game and put myself in better position for the NBA next summer. I want to thank the teams who invited me their in-house workouts, and Nebraska for supporting me during this process. It has been very helpful in gathering information in preparation for my future Thank you to everyone who has been following my progress throughout the spring and being understanding and supportive, as I evaluated whether to turn pro or return for my senior year.”
White, a 6-foot-7, 216-pound guard, earned honorable-mention All-Big Ten honors in 2015-16, averaging 16.6 points and a team-high 5.9 rebounds per game. He ranked among the Big Ten leaders in scoring (sixth), rebounding (15th) and 3-point percentage (fourth) in his first season as a Husker.
White reached double figures in 28 contests, including a pair of 30-point efforts. He had a career-high 35 points, including six 3-pointers, against Penn State on Feb. 13. White also topped the Huskers with three double-doubles in his first season at Nebraska. White, who had nine 20-point games in 2015-16, closed the year with a 25-point performance against Maryland in the Big Ten quarterfinals.
“We are excited to have Andrew remain with our program,” Nebraska Coach Tim Miles said. “This has been a valuable time for him, as he has tested his skills against some of the best competition and received very important insight from key NBA personnel. We look forward to continuing to help Andrew’s development to improve his NBA profile even more than he already has done through this process. I believe next year could be our most complete team with a great opportunity for success in the Big Ten and NCAA tournament, I’m happy Andrew will be with us to go out and prove it.”
White’s return bolsters Nebraska’s lineup, as six of the Huskers’ top eight scorers return for 2016-17 as part of a group of seven returning letterwinners. In all, the group combined for nearly 69 percent of its scoring and 70 percent of the team’s rebounding last season. White’s 16.6 ppg is second among all Big Ten returnees entering 2016-17.
White is one of four players who started at least 16 games last year. Fellow rising senior Tai Webster averaged 10.0 points, 4.1 rebounds and 1.4 steals per game while Glynn Watson Jr. (8.6 apg; 2.4 apg) and sophomore forward Michael Jacobson (4.7 ppg; 4.3 rpg) both were starters as true freshmen in 2015-16.
NU also welcomes Louisville transfer Anton Gill, and a three-member freshman class (Jeriah Horne, Isaiah Roby, Jordy Tshimanga) which were all ranked in the top-150 seniors nationally by Rivals.com.