The deadline to withdraw from the NBA Draft has arrived and Virginia forward Mamadi Diakite has finally announced his intentions. The 6-foot-9 Diakite, whose buzzer-beating shot propelled the Wahoos back to the Final Four on the way to the school’s first NCAA Tournament championship, will return to Charlottesville for his senior year.

Diakite, who enrolled early for the second semester in 2015-2016 and then played the past three seasons, averaged 7.4 points and 4.4 rebounds per game this year while blocking 63 shots, which was good enough for sixth-best all-time at UVa.

His return is a boon for the Hoos given the other losses they sustained this spring with De’Andre Hunter, Ty Jerome, and Kyle Guy also leaving for the professional ranks. Having Diakite back means Virginia will go into next season with a steady, experienced piece from the national title team as the anchor in the post.

He played a season-high 42 minutes in the Elite Eight win over Purdue, which was only possible because of his last-second shot to force overtime. He followed that with a five-block performance in the Final Four win over Auburn before a nine-point, seven-rebound, two-block performance in the title game against Texas Tech.

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