Chris Silva skies high for a slam against Duke in the NCAA Tournament.

Chris Silva goes for a defensive block against Georgia’s Derek Ogbeide.

After going through the NBA draft process, Chris Silva has decided to take his name out of the draft and return to the University of South Carolina.

The senior forward took the month of May to see if he was NBA-ready. He did interviews and workouts with the Oklahoma City Thunder, Milwaukee Bucks, and Brooklyn Nets.

“First and foremost, I got to get better. There is a lot of stuff I need to learn and improve on,” said Silva.

He talked about the process as a great learning experience for him and said that it will only make him a better player going into his senior year. 

He is excited to be coming back to play in the Gamecock garnet and black and feels that one more year with this coaching staff will only benefit him.

“I have another year with all of these great coaches that helped me throughout my freshman year as a basketball player and as a man. It’s a pleasure to have another year with them.”

Silva led the Gamecocks in scoring (14.3), rebounds (8), and blocked shots (1.4).