NIU's Silas withdraws from NBA draft

Northern Illinois junior guard Xavier Silas has pulled his name out of the NBA draft and will return to the Huskies for his senior season.

"We talked to a couple friends who are affiliated with the league, and they said if I went back and had a good year in all aspects of the game, I could be a first-rounder," Silas said on Thursday. "That's better than chancing it this year."

Silas had until May 8 to make his decision, but he chose to withdraw early because he could only begin talking to NBA teams on April 29 and his school finals were approaching.

"I'm just going to focus on next year," he said. "It helps knowing now what I have to work on and knowing what I need to do.

"I know winning at the same time has a lot to do with it. If I can't help Northern Illinois win, how am I going to help the Knicks win or the Lakers win?"