May 21, 2008

UTEP guard Stefon Jackson announced on Wednesday that he has withdrawn from the 2008 NBA Draft and will return to UTEP for his senior season.

"I have decided that it is in my best interest to come back. I'm excited about returning, I'm excited about the great team we have coming back and I'm excited about my senior year," Jackson said.

"We are very happy that Stefon has decided to return to UTEP for one more season," UTEP coach Tony Barbee said. "He is a very special player and person, and he means a lot to our team. Stefon did his homework on the draft and decided that coming back for his senior year would be the best move that he could make. I think we're going to have a good team next season, and obviously Stefon is a big part of that."

Jackson ranks fourth on the UTEP career scoring chart with 1,548 points, and could pass Brandon Wolfram as the school's all-time scoring leader with 284 points next season. The Philadelphia native scored 778 points as a junior, second-most by a UTEP and Conference USA player in a season. He led Conference USA and ranked seventh nationally in scoring in 2007-08, averaging 23.6 points per game.

The 6-5, 185-pound Jackson was a first team All-Conference USA and NABC second team All-District 13 selection this past season. He was chosen the C-USA Most Valuable Player by CollegeInsider.com, and a fourth team High-Major All-American by CollegeHoops.net. He scored 20 points or more in 24 of 33 games as a junior, with five 30-point performances. Jackson holds the school record with forty-one 20-point games. He is also third in school annals in free throw attempts (571), fourth in free throws made (414), sixth in field goal attempts (1,147), seventh in field goals made (528) and tied for 11th in steals (101).