Kansas Basketball: Svi Mykhailiuk forgoes NBA Draft, returning to Jayhawks
By Taylor Sturm
The Kansas Jayhawks might be losing a large portion of their team heading into the 2017-18 college basketball season, but received some good news as Svi Mykhailiuk announced he would return to Lawrence for his senior season.
Falling to the Oregon Ducks in the Elite Eight was a bitter end to a great season for the Kansas Jayhawks, but Bill Self and Co. will move forward as they always do. With a deep roster and incoming top recruits, Kansas will be once against poised to lead the Big 12 and enter the postseason with a chance to win it all.
The Jayhawks will be in an even better position to do so now, however, after guard Svi Mykhailiuk decided to withdraw from the 2017 NBA Draft and return to play for Kansas for his senior season.
Svi Mykhailiuk will return to Kansas next season, per a source. Entered 2017 NBA Draft without an agent.
— Jon Rothstein (@JonRothstein) May 24, 2017
Mykhailiuk, who averaged 9.8 points per game over 27.3 minutes per game last season, tested the NBA waters without an agent, meaning that he had the option to return to school. At 6’8 and 205 pounds, he will likely be given a chance by an NBA team, even if he does not get drafted in the 2018 NBA Draft, because of his size for someone listed as a guard.
Mykhailiuk made the correct decision to return to Lawrence for another season in order to try and grow his draft stock and win with the Jayhawks, but it remains to be seen whether it will pay off with more success in the Big 12 and a deep NCAA Tournament run.