Florida Basketball: Jalen Hudson returning for senior season

(Photo by George Walker/Icon Sportswire)

Florida guard Jalen Hudson will officially withdraw from the 2018 NBA draft and return to school for another season.

Hudson announced his intentions to enter for the draft back on May 27 and was the only Florida player to declare as an early entrant.

The 6-6 guard averaged a team-best 15.5 points and 3.9 rebounds in 26.6 minutes per game in his first season with the Gators after transferring from Virginia Tech.

He also shot 40.4 percent from beyond the arc, which ranked seventh in the SEC.

Despite losing do-it-all point guard Chris Chiozza and sharpshooter Egor Koulechov, the Gators should be set for another good season due to the combination of returners and newcomers.

In addition to Hudson, Florida also returns KeVaughn Allen and frontcourt stalwarts Keith Stone and Kevarrius Hayes, as well as a solid sophomore group that played quality minutes this past season.

Mike White will add a strong 2018 recruiting class to go along with that, with the team boasting a top-20 class headlined by 5-star point guard Andrew Nembhard and 4-star prospects Noak Locke and Keyontae Johnson.

The Gators finished 21-13 overall and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament before losing to Texas Tech.

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