Villanova junior guard Maalik Wayns will hire an agent and remain in the pool of candidates for the 2012 NBA Draft.
“The NBA has been a lifelong dream of mine and I have decided now is the time to pursue it,” said Wayns, who paced the Wildcats in scoring in 2011-12 with a 17.6 ppg average. “I loved my three years at Villanova. I had the best teammates, coaches and professors anybody could ask for. I will always be a Wildcat.”
Wayns came to Villanova from Philadelphia’s Roman Catholic High School and in three seasons scored 1,191 points in 95 games. His 39-point game at Cincinnati on Jan. 14 was the highest single game point total recorded this season by a Big East player and the 6-2 guard was named second team All-Big East in voting by the conference’s coaches.
“We support Maalik’s decision and will continue to work closely with him throughout this process,” stated Villanova head coach Jay Wright.
Wayns had announced on March 14 that he would enter his name into the pool of candidates for the NBA Draft but, by rule, retained the right to remove it by the April 10 deadline for underclassmen to withdraw and return to college.
