Dwayne Bacon Announces Return to FSU: Latest Comments, Reaction

The Florida State Seminoles received some good news on Monday, as star freshman Dwayne Bacon announced he'll be returning to school next year.

The 6'7" guard announced on Twitter he will return to Florida State in hopes of making the NCAA tournament next year:

Bacon averaged 15.8 points and 5.8 rebounds last year for Florida State.

Bacon originally declared for the 2016 NBA draft last Wednesday but did not hire an agent. Therefore, he had the chance to withdraw his name from consideration at any time before the NBA Draft Combine. The 20-year-old 5-star prospect out of Oak Hill Academy shot 44.7 percent from the floor last year in 28.8 minutes per game.

DraftExpress has the guard as the No. 74-ranked prospect on its top 100 board. It's unclear whether Bacon's reasoning to return to school had anything to do with his draft stock, but the chances are good he took that into consideration before changing his mind.

The talent level is there for Bacon to be a lottery pick should he declare for the draft next year. He'll need to improve his three-point shooting, as he shot only 28 percent from long range as a freshman, but he has the physical tools at his disposal to be a great prospect. He has an NBA-ready build and is a physical presence when he attacks the basket.

If three-point shooting is the only knock on his game, a solid sophomore season means Bacon is a lock for the first round in 2017.

As for the future of the Seminoles, 2017 could be a prime year for head coach Leonard Hamilton's team after a 20-14 campaign in 2016. Florida State has the 10th-best recruiting class coming in next year, led by top Florida prospect and 5-star small forward Jonathan Isaac. The talent Florida State will have next year has a chance to better its ACC rivals.

And with Bacon coming back, the Seminoles are sure to have the early favorite for ACC Player of the Year on the team as well.

All recruiting composite rankings and star rankings courtesy of 247Sports. Stats courtesy of Sports-Reference.com.