Jalen Wilson announces he’s returning to college at Kansas, leaving NBA Draft process

LAWRENCE — Jalen Wilson has chosen to exit the NBA draft process and not embark on his professional career, thus ensuring his time in college at Kansas will continue.

Wilson announced the decision Wednesday on Twitter. It came about a week after a teammate, Christian Braun, elected to remain in the draft process after their national-championship season.

“My path has always been different,” Wilson said in the tweet. “I’m back.”

The potential that Wilson’s time with the Jayhawks might come to an end after his redshirt sophomore campaign seemed to rise when the forward earned an invitation to the NBA’s draft combine in Chicago. Wilson was one of seven prospects at the NBA G League Elite Camp in May selected to do that, with the camp leading into the combine. But while Wilson was able to impress that week in front of evaluators, even though he didn’t shoot the ball as well at the combine as he did at the camp, it appears the draw of another season at Kansas had greater strength than the alternative.

Wilson averaged 15.5 points, 4.5 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game during the two camp scrimmages, and shot a combined 7-for-11 from behind the arc, 10-for-19 from the field and 4-for-5 from the free-throw line. He averaged 9.5 points, six rebounds and four assists per game during the two combine scrimmages, and shot a combined 6-for-21 from the field, 1-for-7 from behind the arc and 6-for-8 from the free-throw line. One might expect that, in 2023, he’ll have an opportunity to improve on those numbers and the various measurements taken when he inevitably goes through the process again.

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Kansas head coach Bill Self had said during the broadcast of the combine that while Wilson was inconsistent at times shooting the ball for the Jayhawks, if Wilson could find that consistency he could improve any team he’d be on. That ability would be added to a repertoire that already included an ability to rebound and bring up the ball well in transition. But whether or not Wilson was able to show that consistency during workouts for NBA teams, after that feedback he isn’t taking the next step professionally — although it’s unclear at this point how much money he could make in name, image and likeness (NIL) endeavors played into the decision.

Wilson had said the week of the camp and combine that he had worked out with San Antonio, Brooklyn and New York. He noted as well then that he had a future workout scheduled with Milwaukee. Those four teams would have been ones to watch when it came to where Wilson might have ended up, whether that was by way of a draft pick or un-drafted contract.

“We are all very excited to hear the news today from Jalen and his family that he will be returning to school for the 2022-23 campaign,” Self said Wednesday in a Kansas release. “He’s gone through the process and the process did exactly what it is intended to do. It gave him the feedback he needed to make an educated decision. We’re proud of the maturity Jalen showed in making the decision and very excited to put him a position to where he can enhance his opportunities to not only play, but have a long career in the NBA.”

Self, in the release, continued: “Our team got a lot better today. As well as Jalen played last year, he is just scratching the surface of the entire player he can be for our program. I’m looking forward to the intangibles he will bring to this team as he and Dajuan (Harris) become the vets and the leaders of our program.”

This past season at Kansas, Wilson averaged 11.1 points, 7.4 rebounds and 1.8 assists per game. His points-per-game mark was third among Jayhawks, although his total points ranked fourth. His rebounds-per-game mark was first among Jayhawks, although his total rebounds ranked second.

Wilson improved after a slow start and became a key member of Kansas’ run to Big 12 Conference and NCAA tournament championships. His 17-point, 13-rebound double-double in the regular season finale against Texas helped the Jayhawks earn a share of the Big 12’s regular season crown, before they went on to win the Big 12 tournament. His double-doubles in close victories against Creighton and Providence played key roles in Kansas advancing to the Elite Eight.

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“This kid had a little bit of a distraction early on, and he handled it like men do and never made an excuse, accepted responsibility,” Self said about Wilson during the team’s banquet in April. “And struggled making shots early on, then by Big 12 play he was arguably a good a player as we had many nights. He’s confident. He’s an unbelievable teammate. He’s so coachable, you can’t coach him hard enough and I love coaching him.”

Wilson’s return seems to bring a sense of finality when it comes to what the Jayhawks’ roster will look like for this upcoming season. Especially because transfer commit Kevin McCullar announced his own exit from the draft process soon after Wilson. Should there be no other unannounced changes, with those two back Kansas would be at 13 scholarship athletes for the 2022-23 squad.

The Jayhawks will still need a number of individuals to step up, considering Wilson’s return doesn’t change the fact they’ve lost six of their top eight scorers and five of their top seven rebounders from this past season. A lot of experience is set to not return, considering that would be six scholarship players departing and all six were either a junior, senior or super-senior. But the process for Self and company to figure out the rotation just became a whole lot easier with Wilson’s decision.

“I’m hoping that Jalen and Kevin do decide to come back,” current Kansas guard Bobby Pettiford said Wednesday, ahead of Wilson's and McCullar's announcements. “I’ve talked to Kevin a little bit. So, I’m hoping they decide to come back, because those will be the key pieces that’ll get us over that hump, back to the same spot we came from.”

Jordan Guskey covers University of Kansas Athletics at The Topeka Capital-Journal. Contact him at jmguskey@gannett.com or on Twitter at @JordanGuskey.

This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: Jalen Wilson is returning to KU basketball, declining NBA Draft