Yahoo! NBA columnist Twitter report: Adreian Payne returning for senior season at Michigan State

Michigan State junior forward has announced he will return to throw down more dunks at the Breslin Center as a senior with the Spartans.

EAST LANSING — Michigan State junior forward Adreian Payne will return for his senior season with the Spartans, according to a tweet from Adrian Wojnarowski (@WojYahooNBA) of Yahoo!

According to the tweet, "Michigan State's Adreian Payne will return to school for his senior year, a source told Y! Sports. Midnight deadline to enter the NBA draft.

CBSsports.com also cited an anonymous source and

The Michigan State athletic department could not confirm Payne's decision, at the time of this writing.

Payne averaged 10.5 points, 7.6 rebounds and 25.6 minutes per game for Michigan State, helping to lead the Spartans to a 27-9 record and Sweet 16 appearance in the NCAA tournament.

Payne also led the team in free-throw percentage, making 84.8 percent of his shots from the line, earning second-team All-Big Ten honors from the coaches and the media.

Payne, a 6-foot-10, 240-pounder with the ability to run the floor, was widely projected as a very-late-first, to mid-second round selection.

MLive reported that Payne spoke with agents on Thursday, which is a normal part of the process for NBA prospects considering their future.

Payne indicated following Michigan State's season-ending 71-61 loss to Duke in the NCAA tournament that he was returning for his senior season.

Payne's return positions the Spartans among national title contenders, as senior center Derrick Nix is the only starter who is not returning.

Among those returning is last season's Big Ten Freshman of the Year, Gary Harris.

Harris, like Payne, weighed his NBA options before announce he would return for his sophomore season at shooting guard.

Other returning starters include forward Branden Dawson and point guard Keith Appling.

Spartans' coach Tom Izzo helped Payne gather as much information as possible on his draft stock, and told MLive on Thursday that he would support Payne's decision, either way.

Players has until midnight on to declare himself eligible for the NBA draft, which is on June 27.

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