Poythress showed more flashes of his talent last season, averaging 5.9 points and 4.5 rebounds per game and contributing to the Wildcats' NCAA title-game run. His postseason performances fueled speculation that the 6-foot-7 small forward might follow guard James Young and forward Julius Randle to the NBA draft, but Poythress said in a release Wednesday that he wanted "to make sure that I'm NBA-ready before I make that jump."
Poythress is the third Kentucky player to return next season, joining 6-9 freshman forward Marcus Lee and 7-foot sophomore Willie Cauley-Stein. He'll be part of a Wildcats frontcourt that will welcome 7-foot Karl Towns and 6-10 Trey Lyles next season.
