Almost three weeks after declaring for the NBA draft, Northwestern rising senior John Shurna announced that he has withdrawn his name from consideration for the draft, which will be held on June 23rd this summer. The deadline to withdraw one’s name from consideration was Sunday, May 8th.
Shurna, who averaged 16.6 points per game this campaign despite post-concussion symptoms and a severely sprained and recurring ankle injury, had not signed with an agent, which left open the door for his return to Northwestern.
Quoting a news release from the Northwestern athletic department, Shurna stated: “This was a great opportunity for me to receive feedback on the areas of my game that I need to improve upon. In the end, it’s in my best interest to return to Northwestern for my senior year. I’m excited to continue playing with my teammates and work with our coaching staff as we strive to achieve our goals.”
After a summer stint participating with USA Basketball and practicing with NBA players such as Kevin Durant and Andre Iguodala, Shurna was presumably testing his NBA prospects and receiving feedback from scouts and organizations about his skills and deficiencies. College players are allowed to engage in the process of declaring for the draft and withdrawing their names only once; second-time applicants are not permitted to withdraw.
Shurna is on pace to break the scoring record set by Northwestern and NBA alumnus Billy McKinney, who set the record in 1976 with 1,900 points. Shurna has scored 1,377 points in his three-year tenure, and would break McKinney’s record if he repeats his junior year scoring average.