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Jahii Carson announced that he will return to Arizona State for his redshirt sophomore season on Tuesday afternoon, making the decision official in a statement on the athletic department website.
Carson, who was named Pac-12 Co-Freshman of the Year with Shabazz Muhammad, led the team with 18.5 points and 5.1 assists per game, while pulling down 3.7 rebounds for the Sun Devils, who finished the season 22-13 overall and 9-9 in the Pac-12, capping the year with an 89-86 loss at Baylor in the second round of the NIT.
The 5-10, 175-pound Carson, who sat out the 2011-12 season due to academics, scored at least 20 points in Arizona State’s final four games, including a 34-point effort in an 89-88 victory over Stanford in the first round of the Pac-12 tournament. He scored in single digits just twice on the season.
You have to wonder why Carson isn’t going pro. His game seems NBA-ready. Not only do his stats back it up, but he gets those numbers consistently and does so in big games as well -- he dropped 30 points on then-no. 18 Creighton in an early-season loss and 22 in a loss to then-no.7 Arizona later on. He’s a local product from Mesa, Ariz.
With Carson coming back, coach Herb Sendek can expect to pick up where his team left off next year. They lose Carrick Felix, but return center Jordan Bachynski (9.8 points, 5.9 rebounds, 3.4 blocks per game) and guard Evan Gordon (10.1 points) return, along with 6-7 Jonathan Gilling’s 9.7 points and 6.7 rebounds.
Follow David Harten on Twitter at @David_Harten