Michigan State basketball: 5 reasons Cassius Winston will return

Michigan State Basketball: 5 reasons Cassius Winston should return in 2019-20

CHICAGO, ILLINOIS - MARCH 15: Cassius Winston #5 of the Michigan State Spartans celebrates after beating the Ohio State Buckeyes 77-70 during the quarterfinals of the Big Ten Basketball Tournament at the United Center on March 15, 2019 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images) /

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MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA – APRIL 06: Cassius Winston #5 of the Michigan State Spartans reacts after being defeated by the Texas Tech Red Raiders 61-51 during the 2019 NCAA Final Four semifinal at U.S. Bank Stadium on April 6, 2019 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images) /

2. Draft stock not where he needs it to be

Cassius Winston may very well remain in the draft throughout the process before deciding to return after getting evaluated by scouts, but he’ll soon find out that his draft stock isn’t quite where he’ll want it.

In fact, there are a number of mock drafts out there with him going undrafted and those with him even in the two-round mock have him going late in the second, at the very earliest.

Players who decide to leave college early usually do so knowing that they’ve done all they can to improve that stock and have topped out at their ceiling in the draft class. Winston has not reached that point yet and could potentially improve to a late-first, early-second round pick next season with another strong year, leading one of the nation’s best teams.

On top of that, he’ll have time to work on his body and add some muscle and strength to his frame, showing that he has what it takes to hang with NBA talent.

Winston won’t want to leave early if that means he’s not guaranteed a spot on an NBA roster and will instead have to duke it out in the G-League, so his stock is going to bring him back to East Lansing for one more season.

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