Florida guard Will Richard decides to withdraw from 2024 NBA Draft, return to Gators for senior year

Florida guard Will Richard officially decided to withdraw his name from the 2024 NBA Draft on Friday night, according to Jeff Goodman of The Field of 68. He’ll return to the Gators for his senior season.

Florida finished with a 24-12 overall record this year, including an 11-7 record in the SEC. The Gators were knocked out in the first round of the 2024 NCAA Tournament, where they lost to the Colorado Buffaloes in a classic, 102-100. One of their more impressive wins of the season came against the Alabama Crimson Tide on March 5th. They throttled Alabama 105-87 in front of their home crowd. And the Tide ended up making it all the way to the Final Four in this year’s NCAA Tournament.

Walter Clayton, Jr. recently competed in the G League Elite Camp. He’ll have a decision to make as the deadline to withdraw his name from the 2024 NBA Draft is May 29th by 11:59 PM EST.

Will Richard averaged 11.4 points per game during his junior season with the Gators. He began his collegiate career at Belmont. With Belmont in 2021-2022, he averaged 12.1 points, 1.8 assists, and 1.2 steals per game. He also shot 32.6% from three-point range and 80.4% from the free throw line.

When he declared for the draft, Richard issued the following statement. “I’m excited to announce that I will be declaring for the 2024 NBA Draft while maintaining my eligibility,” he wrote. “In the event that I return to college, I will be returning to (none) other than the University of Florida. I have every desire to fulfill my dreams of playing in the NBA and will allow for the process, and feedback from NBA teams to make a draft decision.”

Earlier this season, Richard eclipsed 1,000 career points in a win over Georgia in February. Scoring 20 or more points on six separate occasions, he was a key piece to the Gators’ efforts this past year. The Gators had a strong season under second-year head coach Todd Golden, going 24-12 (11-7). Florida advanced to the NCAA Tournament, before losing a heartbreaker to Colorado in the opening round.

Before college, Richard was unranked in the On3 Industry Ranking, which is a proprietary algorithm that compiles ratings and rankings from all four primary recruiting media services.

On3’s Barkley Truax also contributed to this article.