Milos Uzan withdrawing from NBA Draft to return to Houston

Milos Uzan will withdraw from the NBA Draft and return for his senior season at Houston, cementing last season’s national runner-up as one of the preseason national title favorites.

Uzan’s decision gives Houston three returning starters — Uzan, Emanuel Sharp and Joseph Tugler. Uzan called Houston coach Kelvin Sampson over the weekend and told him he was leaning toward coming back, and Sampson said he told Uzan to check with his family and agent to make sure it was what he wanted to do.

“Usually when kids go into draft — like Quentin (Grimes), Marcus (Sasser), they’d have a chance to come back,” Sampson said. “They’re all looking for feedback. And if I’m not going to be drafted high enough, what is it I need to work on? And he went through the process, got his feedback, and then made a decision. I think it’s pretty simple.”

In a roster domino, former Texas Tech and Creighton guard Pop Isaacs decommitted from Houston and will head to Texas A&M.

“Texas A&M needed a point guard and I think that’s going to turn out to be a great decision for Pop,” Sampson said. “With Milos coming back, I think (it) changed some things and I think it worked out for everybody, which is to me the perfect scenario.”

The Houston coaching staff operated this spring under the premise that Uzan would likely stay in the draft and moved quickly to replace him in the starting lineup with Isaacs. The door was always left open in case Uzan’s feedback from the NBA led him back to Houston. After participating in the NBA Draft Combine and working out for six teams, he was trending toward the second round — he appeared at No. 40 in The Athletic’s Sam Vecenie’s latest mock draft.

By returning to college, it’s possible that Uzan could get more money than he would have received with a contract in the second round. He also has the chance to play his way into the 2026 first round. With L.J. Cryer, Houston’s leading scorer from last season, graduating, Uzan will likely take on more of a scoring role after averaging 11.4 points in his first season at Houston.

Sampson’s formula has been roster continuity, and this certainly helps in that department. The Cougars will be leaning more on freshmen than ever before, with two starting spots likely going to power forward Chris Cenac Jr. and either Isiah Harwell or Kingston Fleming at the other guard spot, but it’s a lot easier to blend those freshmen around three veterans. The combination of Uzan, Sharpe and Tugler outscored opponents by 40.8 points per 100 possessions when on the floor together last season, per CBB Analytics.

(Photo: Alex Slitz / Getty Images)