Michigan State Basketball: 3 reasons Aaron Henry will return for junior year

1. Current draft projections

For anyone who has been keeping up with draft projections and mock drafts, they’d know one thing: Aaron Henry would be wise to come back for another year.

Obviously he made the move to declare right at the deadline so he could see where he stands in NBA circles and get adequate feedback on his game. Nick Ward did the same thing a couple of years ago and then worked on his game and declared after his junior season. He didn’t end up getting drafted, but a lot of that may have had to do with the hand injury he suffered which slowed him at the end of the 2018-19 season.

Henry isn’t on many — if any — mock drafts nor is he a first or second-round projection. Most projections seem him as an undrafted free agent who is likely to catch on with a Summer League squad and then head down to the G-League or overseas.

If Henry wants to get paid right away, no matter the amount, then going pro would be his move, but he’s smarter than that. He wants to play in the NBA and another year or two in East Lansing should yield those results.

Let’s say Henry comes back, leads the team in scoring, remains the best perimeter defender on the squad and works on his handles and consistency, he’d be considered as a round one pick. That’s much better than a “maybe” late-second round grade.