Georgia F Nicolas Claxton drastically improved his game as a sophomore last season under first-year Bulldogs coach Tom Crean.

In 34 games, all of which he started, Claxton averaged 13 points, 8.6 rebounds, 2.5 blocks, 1.8 assists and 1.1 steals per game — outstanding numbers for the 6-11, 220-pound big man.

After going through the draft evaluation process, Claxton’s stock is on the rise. After much consideration, Claxton has decided to keep his name in the 2019 NBA Draft pool:

That’s obviously a tough loss for Georgia, but the goal of college basketball is to prepare players for the next level, so this is an overall success for Crean and the Bulldogs.

With a solid recruiting class coming in this fall, more Georgia players could find themselves heading to the NBA under Crean’s leadership.