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Despite voicing that his plan was "to come back to Wisconsin", Nigel Hayes has announced his intentions to enter the NBA Draft, according to the great and powerful Woj (Adrian Wojnarowski). However, he will do so without immediately signing with an agency, which is something to watch moving forward.
Because Hayes is not signing with an agent, he will technically still have the option to return to the Wisconsin Badgers after the preliminary workout. May 25, 2016 is the last chance he will have to return to the collegiate ranks for one more go.
For fans feeling betrayed after hearing Hayes announce intentions of returning, his quote from that day actually kept things pretty open-ended, and with the option to return still on the table, he may still end up in Madison.
"No, there's not any news. I mean, just had my coaches meeting, the people around me know. Really, the gist of it, though, is -- I was just telling the guys -- I would love to come back, my plan is to come back. But, you know, the whole 'testing the waters' thing is what it is, it's you testing the waters. That's why they changed this rule now, to allow players to be able to do that. So I'm just going to continue from now on until the combine -- if I'm invited, that is -- work to become the best player I can be and go there, perform. Whatever may happen with that, happens. If nothing comes from that, then, you know, I'm looking forward to having a terrific senior season."
Hayes is coming off of what can be considered a disappointing season, only because the hype surrounding him was so massively inflated before the opening tip. His rebounds per game, field goal percentage and three point percentage all dropped from the 2014-2015 season, but he still managed to improve in assists per game, points per game and steals per game. His minutes also increased from 33.0 per game to 36.2 per game.
Bucky's 5th Quarter will continue to update you on Hayes as he moves forward with the NBA Draft process.