Associated Press


LAWRENCE, Kan. -- Nick Collison and Kirk Hinrich won't follow former teammate Drew Gooden to the NBA draft.

Jayhawks coach Roy Williams said Friday that the players would return for their senior years, even though an NBA evaluation committee told him both would have been first-round draft choices.

Collison, a 6-foot-9 forward, averaged 15.6 points and 8.3 rebounds last season, second on the team in both to Gooden. Hinrich, a 6-3 guard, averaged 14.8 points and 4.8 rebounds.

"Needless to say, this helps our basketball team and the prospects for next year," Williams said. "But I think that everyone would have understood if they had gone. It would have been a good decision for them to make."

Besides Gooden and senior shooting guard Jeff Boschee, most of last season's team is expected to return. The Jayhawks, who were ranked No. 1 for four weeks last season, went unbeaten in the Big 12 and finished with a 33-4 record. They were second in the final poll of the season and lost to Maryland in the national semifinals.