Center Patric Young will return to Florida for his senior season in 2013-14, the team announced Monday.
After saying he needed to discuss his decision with his family following UF’s Elite Eight loss to Michigan on March 31, Young chose not to leave school for the NBA.
“I have the chance to finish my degree and play another season for coach (Billy) Donovan with great teammates and friends at a place I love,” Young said in a release.
“These first three years have gone by in a flash, and I can’t believe it is my senior year already. I have gotten better as a player and better as a man at the University of Florida. I believe God has my future in his hands, so all I am worried about now is getting better this summer and making it the hardest I have trained in my life.”
Before Monday, many mock draft websites projected Young as a second-round pick. DraftExpress.com listed the 6-foot-9, 249-pound Young as the 38th player on the board. NBADraft.net had him at No. 53.
“This was Patric’s decision to make,” Donovan said in a release. “He ultimately had to do what he felt was best for himself and his future.”
Young’s return bolsters Florida’s frontcourt in 2013-14. The Gators add 6-foot-9 forward Chris Walker, a five-star recruit. Damontre Harris — once South Carolina’s starting center — is eligible to play next season after sitting out the 2012-13 campaign per NCAA transfer rules. Dorian Finney-Smith, a 6-foot-8 forward who transferred to Florida after one season at Virginia Tech in 2011-12, will also join the Gators’ frontcourt next season.
Forwards Will Yeguete and Casey Prather, who combined for 9.5 rebounds per game off the bench in 2012-13, also return for their senior seasons.
Young is just 122 points shy of becoming the 50th Gator to reach 1,000 career points.
Throughout his junior year, Young was a reliable scorer but an inconsistent rebounder. He averaged 10.1 points and 6.3 rebounds but did not post consecutive games with at least 10 boards.
Young shot 58.6 percent from the field, which places second on the team of players with at least 10 shots.
But his free-throw percentage dropped to 48.9 percent last season — 10.4 percentage points lower than his 2011-12 mark. Young finished with the lowest percentage among Gators who attempted at least 30 free throws.
He improved as a shot blocker, averaging 1.6 blocks — twice as many as he collected as a sophomore. His 34 steals were tied for third-best on the squad.
Young recorded 16 points and nine rebounds in UF’s second-round victory against Northwestern State but then struggled during the remainder of the NCAA Tournament.
In Florida’s final three games, Young averaged 5.7 points on 35.3 percent shooting and 6.3 boards. He made only 9 of 20 free-throw attempts during the Big Dance.
Center Patric Young attempts a shot during Florida’s 79-59 Elite Eight loss to Michigan on March 31 in Arlington, Texas.
