Georgia forward Yante Maten announces he will withdraw from the NBA draft

Yante Maten is coming back.

Georgia's top big man announced Tuesday on his Instagram page that he will return for his senior season of college basketball.

Maten previously announced for the NBA draft to evaluate his options at pursuing basketball at the next level. Maten had until Wednesday to decide whether to come back or not as he never signed with an agent.

“I’ve had a good experience working out with teams, and it has helped my development out tremendously,” Maten wrote. “But I have talked it over with my family and decided to return to the University of Georgia for my senior year. Go dawgs!!”

Maten averaged 18.2 points and 6.8 rebounds per game during the 2016-17 season. He was Georgia's go-to scorer in the post before he sustained a knee injury less than two minutes into a home game against Kentucky on Feb. 18.

Maten missed the final four regular-season games before returning to the SEC Tournament to play against Tennessee in Kentucky. He sat out Georgia's NIT loss against Belmont.

With Maten back, Georgia returns an experienced frontcourt that will feature he, Derek Ogbeide and Mike Edwards. The Bulldogs are also adding freshman Isaac Kante to the mix next season.

While Maten didn't receive an invite to the NBA combine, he did work out for the Denver Nuggets and the Boston Celtics this past week.

“Yante and I spoke often in the past several weeks, and I’m really proud of how he used the NBA draft process,” Georgia head coach Mark Fox said in a statement. “He’s learned a lot, and he will be better because of it. Obviously, we are thrilled he chose to come back for his senior season. His education has also been very important to him since he arrived on campus – and he will have a better path towards graduation now that he is back.”

This story was originally published May 23, 2017 at 8:49 PM with the headline "Georgia forward Yante Maten announces he will withdraw from the NBA draft."