3/14/2017 basketball Edit

NC State freshman center Omer Yurtseven to test NBA Draft waters

Matt Carter • TheWolfpackCentral

Editor

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Yurtseven appeared in 22 games, starting 14, his freshman year and averaged 5.9 points and 4.4 rebounds per contest. (Ken Martin)

A school spokesman at NC State confirmed Tuesday afternoon that freshman center Omer Yurtseven will test the NBA Draft waters, but not sign with an agent to leave open the option of returning for his sophomore season.

Yurtseven, a native of Istanbul, Turkey, was considered an elite-level international signing last spring after he picked the Wolfpack over Syracuse and Utah. He had to sit out the first nine games of the season over eligibility issues stemming from his days with playing for a club team in Turkey.

Once eligible, Yurtseven played 22 games and started 14 of them, averaging 5.9 points and 4.4 rebounds per game and he blocked 16 shots.

The 7-foot, 245-pounder had been considered a potential lottery pick and one-and-done possibility, but his struggles adjusting to the American college game has lowered his stock. He is not in DraftExpress.com's latest two-round mock draft. He is listed at No. 34 in the following year's 2018 draft.

Underclassmen have the option of going through workouts with NBA teams at the combine and up to 10 days afterward, and then they can decide whether or not to remain or withdraw from the draft, provided they do not hire an agent.

Last year, forward Abdul-Malik Abu and center BeeJay Anya both took advantage of the process before returning to NC State. Contrarily, point guard Cat Barber signed with an agent and remained in the draft, and went undrafted.