Associated Press

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DeAndre Jordan is leaving Texas A&M after one season.

Coach Mark Turgeon said Monday the 7-foot freshman center will stay in the NBA draft with hopes of becoming the third Aggie taken in the first round since 2005. Monday was the last day for underclassmen who had not hired agents to withdraw from the draft.

Jordan averaged 7.9 points and a team-high 6.0 rebounds last season. The Aggies lost to UCLA in the second round of the NCAA tournament.

Texas A&M's Acie Law was taken 11th by Atlanta last year, and Antoine Wright went 15th to New Jersey in 2005.

North Carolina underclassmen Ty Lawson, Wayne Ellington and Danny Green will return to Chapel Hill next season after removing their names from the draft. That means the Tar Heels figure to enter next year as prohibitive favorites to reach the Final Four. North Carolina will return its top six players while also adding one of the nation's top recruiting classes.

Other players withdrawing Monday were Texas guard A.J. Abrams; Arizona forward Chase Budinger; Ronald Steele of Alabama; Robert Dozier of Memphis; Jeremy Pargo of Gonzaga; UAB guard Robert Vaden; and Tennessee-Martin guard Lester Hudson.

UCLA's Luc Richard Mbah a Moute, California's Ryan Anderson and Alabama's Richard Hendrix will join Jordan in the NBA draft.

Abrams, Texas' career leader in 3-pointers with 284, surprised many when he joined point guard D.J. Augustin in submitting his name for this summer's draft. But Abrams never signed with an agent, allowing him to return to the Longhorns.

Next season, Texas will return four starters from a team that went 31-7, won a share of the Big 12 regular season championship and advanced to the advanced NCAA tournament regional final in Houston.

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