Purdue’s Johnson and Moore Withdraw From NBA Draft; Will Return For Senior Seasons

With the absurd amount of early entry candidates in this year's NBA Draft, a pair of Purdue standouts have decided to return for their senior seasons. E'Twaun Moore and JaJuan Johnson removed their names from the NBA Draft early this afternoon.

From the Big Ten Network:

Purdue rising seniors E'Twaun Moore and JaJuan Johnson have withdrawn their names from the NBA Draft, and will return to the Boilermakers for their final collegiate seasons.

"We're obviously happy to have two players of the caliber of E'Twaun Moore and JaJuan Johnson returning to our team," Purdue head coach Matt Painter said. "Their dedication, leadership and work ethic are key components of our team, and we're looking forward to helping them develop as both people and basketball players over the next year."

Moore was an honorable mention Associated Press All-American and a first-team All-Big Ten selection in 2010 after leading Purdue in scoring and assists with averages of 16.4 and 2.7 per game, respectively. In February, he was also named to the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America second team.

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Johnson was a second-team All-Big Ten pick in 2010 after earning first-team honors as a sophomore, and also earned his second-straight nod to the Big Ten All-Defensive Team. He led the Boilermakers in rebounds with an average of 7.1 per contest, and ranked third on the team with a clip of 15.5 points per game.

The deadline for early entries to remove themselves from the Draft is today at 5 pm ET. Boilermaker nation will, undoubtedly, be holding their breath hoping that Robbie Hummel doesn't declare for the Draft at the last second. If he does return next season, and it looks like he will, Purdue will have a shot at finishing what they had started this past season before Hummel's season was cut short when he tore his ACL.

Check in with Hammer & Rails for their reaction to the announcement and for any updates as the deadline approaches.