Michigan basketball's Charles Matthews to test NBA draft waters without hiring agent

ANN ARBOR, Mich. – Michigan basketball guard Charles Matthews announced Friday that he is declaring for the NBA draft without hiring an agent.

Matthews will be allowed to participate in NBA workouts without officially leaving college. He can decide to return to the University of Michigan after receiving feedback, if he chooses. Moritz Wagner went through the same process after last season.

In his first year of eligibility since transferring from the University of Kentucky, Matthews was a major reason Michigan made its run to the national championship game. He scored 89 points and grabbed 37 rebounds in six NCAA Tournament games.

Matthews earned West Region Most Outstanding player honors for leading the Wolverines to the Final Four.

Matthews was Michigan's best player in the nonconference season, scoring at least 20 points six times and leading the team on the glass. He struggled during the Big Ten schedule, though, shooting poorly from the floor and never scoring 20 points.

The 6 foot 6, 200-pound guard from Chicago averaged 13 points, 5.5 rebounds and 2.4 assists overall this season.

On top of his offensive production, Matthews was Michigan's most versatile defender. He guarded many of the opposing teams' best players during Michigan's Big Ten Tournament championship run and in the NCAA Tournament.

Matthews certainly has an NBA profile, but he still has two more years of college eligibility and it's unclear if he would be drafted this season.

Michigan is expected to be among the favorite in the Big Ten next season, even though Wagner is leaving for the NBA. If Matthews decided to move on, it would be a big blow to the Wolverines.

John Beilein has the nation's No. 8 recruiting class coming to Ann Arbor next season, with four four-star players and one three-star. If Matthews enters the NBA draft, the freshmen will be asked to shoulder even more of the load as Michigan looks to follow up a school-best 33 wins.