Notre Dame senior All-America forward Luke Harangody announced Monday that he has withdrawn his name from consideration for the upcoming NBA Draft and will return for his final season at the University in 2009-10.

Luke Harangody Announces His Eligibility For NBA Draft

April 16, 2009

Press Conference Quotes

NOTRE DAME, Ind. – Notre Dame forward Luke Harangody (Schererville, Ind.) announced today that he has made himself eligible for the 2009 National Basketball Association Draft on June 25.

Harangody does not plan to hire an agent and therefore can return to school and pull his name from the draft on or before June 15 (10 days prior to the draft) if he doesn’t sign with an agent. Harangody is the fourth Irish player under Brey to make himself eligible for the NBA draft. Troy Murphy left Notre Dame following his junior season in 2001 and eventually was the 14th pick overall of that draft. Chris Thomas made himself eligible for the draft in 2003 after his sophomore season, but returned to school for his final two campaigns. Torin Francis entered his name in the 2005 draft following his junior season, but also came back to finish out his four-year career.

A two-time member of the John R. Wooden All-America Team and two-time Associated Press Second Team All-American, Harangody became the first player in BIG EAST history to lead the conference in scoring (25.2) and rebounding (12.8) in consecutive seasons, while also leading the Irish in both categories, 23.3 points and 11.8 rebounds, for the second straight year. Additionally, he was the only player nationally to rank in the top 10 in both scoring (8th) and rebounding (6th).

Harangody registered an Irish single-season best 25 double-doubles (15 in BIG EAST play) and ranks fourth all-time at Notre Dame with 50 career double-doubles. He scored in double figures in all but two games, netted 30-plus points on six occasions and registered 20-plus points in 25 contests. Harangody established a BIG EAST single-season rebounding record with 231 rebounds in 18 regular-season conference games.

A two-time first-team all-BIG EAST honoree, he earned a spot on Dick Vitale’s All-America squad and was a second team selection to the United States Basketball Writers (USBWA) All-America unit. He also was named a State Farm/NABC third team All-American.

The 6-8, 255-pound junior is one of only four players in Notre Dame history with 1,800 career points and more than 900 rebounds. His ranks eighth all-time with 1,823 points and stands fifth on the rebounding chart with 949 rebounds. In his three-year BIG EAST career, the 2008 BIG EAST Player of the Year has scored 1,031 points (19.9 ppg.) in 52 league contests. Only three other players in BIG EAST history — Ray Allen (Connecticut), Richard Hamilton (Connecticut) and Pat Garrity (Notre Dame) — have scored more than 1,000 points in three seasons.

Key Dates:
April 26 — NBA Early Entry Eligibility Deadline (11:59 p.m. ET)
May 19 — NBA Draft Lottery
June 15 — NBA Draft Early Entry Entrant Withdrawal Deadline (5:00 p.m. ET)
June 23 — Notre Dame Summer School Begins
June 25 — NBA Draft

— ND —