Grayson Allen is headed back to Durham. The shooting guard has decided to return to Duke for his junior season rather than put his name in the NBA draft, according to ESPN’s Jeff Goodman. Allen was projected as a likely first-round pick.
Grayson Allen is bypassing NBA draft to return to Duke, according to report
Allen will return for his junior season rather than enter the 2016 NBA Draft.
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Ricky O'Donnell has covered basketball at all levels for more than a decade at SB Nation. He’s currently the Associate Director of Programming.
Allen’s return makes Duke the favorite to be the preseason No. 1 team, a distinction they may have held even without him. As a sophomore, Allen averaged 21.6 points, 4.6 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game on 41.7 percent shooting from three-point range. He’ll be expected to once again be the focal point of an offense that loses Brandon Ingram but adds arguably the country’s best recruiting class.
Duke welcomes a star-studded freshman class next season, led by wing Jayson Tatum and big man Harry Giles -- the top-two recruits in class of 2016 according to ESPN. Duke is also petitioning the NCAA to get an extra year of eligibility for big man Amile Jefferson, who missed most of his senior season with last year with a foot injury.
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