UNC's Joel Berry withdrawing from draft to return for senior year

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. --North Carolinapoint guard and Final Four Most Outstanding Player Joel Berry II is withdrawing from the NBA draft to return for his senior season.

The school announced Monday that Berry would join teammates Tony Bradley and Theo Pinson in declaring for the draft but wouldn't hire an agent to maintain his college eligibility. But in a statement Tuesday, Berry said he had reversed course after conferring with his family and said he can prepare for the NBA by playing "against the best college competition in the country."

Berry says, "There's no reason to rush leaving school."

He helped lead the Tar Heels to the program's sixth NCAA championship earlier this month, scoring 22 points in the 71-65 win against Gonzaga in the title game on April 3.