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Michigan basketball transfer commit DeVante’ Jones makes NBA Draft decision

Spenser Davis

By Spenser Davis

Published:

Michigan basketball transfer commit DeVante’ Jones will play for the Wolverines this season.

He has officially decided to pull his name out of the NBA Draft, he told ESPN’s Jonathan Givony on Monday morning.

Jones was the Sun Belt Player of the Year last season. He averaged 19.3 points, 7.2 rebounds, 2.9 assists and 2.9 steals per game while playing for Coastal Carolina.

Despite those gaudy numbers, NBA scouts apparently weren’t moved by his performance in that league.

“I decided to withdraw from the NBA draft because there’s a stigma of the level I played at my three years at Coastal Carolina University,” Jones told Givony. “Being able to transition to the Big Ten and play under Juwan Howard will be the perfect opportunity for me to showcase my abilities on a higher stage. I had great conversations with NBA teams, but I would love to keep proving the world wrong because a lot of people believe I’ll get to Michigan and ‘fall off.'”

Jones is one of several key additions for the Wolverines this offseason. Michigan is also adding six freshman, including 5-star forwards Caleb Houstan and Moussa Diabate.

Michigan is expected to be one of the premier teams in the country next season. The Wolverines are projected as a No. 1 seed in Joe Lunardi’s way-too-early bracketology for next season.

“I want to thank God for everything,” Jones told ESPN. “I’m truly blessed and forever grateful. Being about to play at the University of Michigan is a dream come true, especially under a well-respected man like Juwan Howard. Ann Arbor and the Michigan community, it’s going to be an amazing experience. I’m going to give them everything I have. After we beat all the odds, there won’t be any more question marks.”

Spenser Davis

Spenser is the news manager at Saturday Road and covers college football across all Saturday Football brands.