Memphis basketball's Lester Quinones will remain with Tigers if he pulls out of NBA Draft

Jason Munz, Memphis Commercial Appeal
·2 min read

Lester Quinones will either remain in the NBA Draft or return to Memphis, the Tigers' veteran guard announced.

Earlier this month, reports of Quinones' decision to test the draft waters were confirmed by The Commercial Appeal. In a statement Quinones posted on multiple social media outlets on Wednesday, he said his primary goal is playing in the NBA and that he will sign with an agent "while maintaining my eligibility throughout the process."

In 2018, the NCAA revised its rules, allowing players to employ an NCAA-certified agent during the information-gathering process without sacrificing their collegiate eligibility.

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The Tigers' roster has taken a substantial hit this offseason. Six players entered the transfer portal. Two more (Jalen Duren and Josh Minott) declared for the NBA Draft and neither are expected to return to Memphis. There's been plenty of speculation surrounding the futures of Quinones and DeAndre Williams after it became clear they would be going through the pre-draft process.

But Quinones made it clear Wednesday that he will be back at Memphis should he decide to withdraw from draft consideration.

"Memphis has been like a second home to me and if it comes to it, I will be back," Quinones posted.

The deadline to withdraw from the draft – and maintain college eligibility – is 5 p.m. on June 13.

Quinones, a native of Brentwood, New York, has spent the past three seasons at Memphis. He has a 10.1 career scoring average to go along with 4.3 rebounds and 1.8 assists per game. Quinones has shot 39.4% from 3-point range over the past two seasons and has a career field goal percentage of 42.1.

If Quinones returns to Memphis, he will line up alongside a number of new teammates, most notably AAC Player of the Year Kendric Davis, who committed to the Tigers last week after spending the past three seasons at SMU.

Reach sports writer Jason Munz at jason.munz@commercialappeal.com or on Twitter @munzly.

This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Memphis basketball: Lester Quinones will stay with Tigers if he pulls out of NBA Draft