Isaiah Sykes, who led the nation with two triple-doubles in 2012-13, has withdrawn his name from the NBA Draft and will return to the UCF men’s basketball program for his senior season.
As a junior, Sykes averaged 16.0 points, 7.5 rebounds and 4.5 assists and was named to the All-Conference USA First Team, the C-USA All-Defensive Team and the NABC All-District 11 First Team. The Detroit native led the conference in steals per game at 2.3 and became the first player in league history to finish C-USA competition ranked in the top 10 in points, rebounds, assists and steals.
“This was a good opportunity for Isaiah to learn more about playing at the next level,” UCF head coach Donnie Jones said. “We are here to help our players achieve their goals and I have no doubt that Isaiah will continue to improve as a senior. We are excited for his future and our program’s future as we enter the new conference.”
This past season, Sykes helped the Knights record their third-straight 20-win campaign. He scored in double figures 27 times and had 12 20-point performances. Sykes will enter his final collegiate campaign 16th on UCF’s career scoring list with 1,030 points, ninth with 547 rebounds and ninth with 132 steals.
UCF will begin its inaugural campaign the American Athletic Conference in November. The league should be among the best in the country with defending national champion Louisville, along with Cincinnati, UConn, Memphis and Temple.