PJ Washington, the lone player to return to Kentucky after putting his name in this year’s NBA Draft, said Thursday that he nearly joined Kevin Knox, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jarred Vanderbilt, Hamidou Diallo and Wenyen Gabriel in heading for the exit.
“Obviously, really close,” he said of the NBA-or-UK decision.
At the NBA Combine last month, Washington said the decision would come down to draft projection: if a likely first-round pick he’d turn pro; if not, he’d return to UK.
Was that how the decision played out?
“I’m here,” he said during an interview session in the Craft Center practice gym.