By John Bohnenkamp

Kris Murray got the feedback he was looking for when he entered the NBA draft process.

Now the 6-foot-8 forward is coming back to Iowa for his junior season.

Murray announced on Wednesday that he was withdrawing from the draft, hours before the deadline to make the decision.

“These past two months have been a tremendous learning process for me,” Murray said in a statement released Wednesday afternoon. “By going through the NBA Draft process, I believe that it will help me in the long run and this upcoming season at Iowa. I can’t wait to get back to work with my teammates and coaches to play for the best fan base in the world. Go Hawks!”

Murray’s twin brother Keegan, a consensus first-team All-American last season after ranking fourth in the nation in scoring at 23.5 points per game, will stay in the draft after hiring an agent in April. He is expected to be a high first-round pick.

Kris Murray is coming off a season in which he averaged 9.7 points per game after playing in just 13 games as a freshman. He played in 35 games, starting once. Murray scored in double figures 16 times, including a career-high 29 points in an 83-74 win over Indiana on January 13.

Murray averaged 4.3 rebounds, and was second on the team in 3-point percentage (.387), blocked shots (0.9 per game) and field goals made (124).

“Everyone in our program is very excited to have Kris back,” Iowa coach Fran McCaffery said in a statement. “We are happy that Kris had a positive experience going through the NBA process. He gained valuable feedback through workouts and conversations with NBA personnel. Kris will be awesome next year.”

Photo: Iowa forward Kris Murray (left) will return for his junior season, he announced on Wednesday. (Brian Ray/hawkeyesports.com)