South Carolina guard A.J. Lawson withdraws from NBA draft

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — South Carolina freshman guard A.J. Lawson has withdrawn his name from the NBA draft.

Lawson announced his choice on Tuesday, a day before the deadline for those who want to return to college to pull out of the draft pool.

Lawson is a 6-foot-6, 172-pound guard from Toronto, Canada, who was the Gamecocks‘ second-leading scorer at 13.4 points a game. He was selected to the all-Southeastern Conference freshman team.

Lawson declined an invite to the G-League Elite Camp, but worked out for several NBA teams. Had Lawson gone, it would’ve left South Carolina without its three double-digit scorers from this past season. Forward Chris Silva and guard Hassani Gravett were both seniors.

Lawson will be the team’s top returning scorer next season. He also averaged more than four rebounds and almost three assists a game.