UAB’s Eric Gaines withdraws from NBA Draft

Eric Gaines is not done yet dropping Sportscenter-worthy dunks for the UAB basketball team.

On the eve of the final day for underclassmen to decide whether or not to remain in the 2023 NBA Draft or return to school, Gaines opted to withdraw his name and return for at least one more season on the Southside, a source familiar with the situation confirmed to AL.com.

Stadium’s Jeff Goodman was the first to report the news.

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Gaines, a 6-foot-2, 165-pound rising junior, appeared in all 39 games for the Blazers last season, starting 29 games and earning C-USA honorable mention, and finished with an average of 11.5 points, 3.4 rebounds, 4.3 assists and a total of 72 steals and 25 blocks. He shot 39.4 percent overall and 34.3 percent from 3-point range, put up a career-high 22 points at Louisiana Tech and recorded two double-doubles on points and assists.

Along with Gaines, UAB returns Javian Davis, Tony Toney and Efrem “Butta” Johnson, while adding Arkansas’s Barry Dunning, Ole Miss sophomore James White and the signing of Arizona Western duo Yaxel Lendeborg and Marquis Hargrove to a star-studded JUCO class that includes three of the top 10 players in the nation.