University of Missouri forward Laurence Bowers announced that he has withdrawn his name from the 2011 NBA Draft and will return to Mizzou for his senior season.
Bowers averaged 11.6 points and 6.1 rebounds for the Tigers last season as the team finished 23-11 and advanced to a third consecutive NCAA Tournament.
“This has been a positive experience for me,” Laurence Bowers said. “I wanted to get some feedback on what areas of my game I needed to work on and that happened, but the bottom line is that I am looking forward to my senior season at Missouri. I have really enjoyed working with our new coaching staff and as a senior class we have a lot of great opportunities ahead of us.”
One of the league’s top returning players, Bowers led the club in rebounding (6.1) and blocked shots (62) last year en route to Big 12 All-Defensive Team honors. The Memphis, Tenn., native has 123 career blocked shots, which is fourth all-time in school history. He is just 27 blocks shy of second place, behind only Arthur Johnson (2001-04) who blocked 245.
