May 23, 2016
SAN DIEGO - San Diego State rising junior Malik Pope announced Monday that he is withdrawing his name from the NBA Draft and returning to Montezuma Mesa for his junior season. In April, the forward declared for the Draft, but did not hire an agent, which gave him the option to return to campus.
A native of Sacramento, Pope helped the Aztecs to their third straight Mountain West regular-season title, an appearance in the NIT semifinals and a 28-10 overall record (16-2 MW) in 2015-16. The forward played in all 38 games during his sophomore season, making 16 starts, and averaged 7.3 points and 5.0 rebounds. The 6-10, 210-pound forward scored in double figures 12 times, with SDSU going 11-1 in those games, and four double-doubles.
Pope was particularly effective in the final 13 games of the season, posting averages of 11.7 points, 6.9 rebounds and 1.2 assists. He also shot 47.5 percent from the field, including 50.0 percent from three-point distance, during that span. In his final nine outings, however, he upped his scoring and rebounding to 12.3 and 7.3, respectively, and added three double-doubles, including a 19-point, 11-rebound effort in the MW championship game, which helped him earn all-Mountain West tournament accolades.
For his career, Pope has played in 69 games to go with 16 starts and averaged 6.3 points and 4.0 rebounds in 18.4 minutes. In his freshman season (2014-15), he was eased into action at the beginning of the campaign as he was recovering from a pair of leg injuries that cost him part of his junior season and his entire senior year at Laguna Creek High School. Pope did not see regular action in the SDSU rotation until the third week of January 2015 and ultimately helped the Aztecs to the third round of the 2015 NCAA tournament.
Pope is returning to a San Diego State program that has won an average of 26 games the last 11 seasons, all of which have ended in postseason tournament appearances. The Aztecs, who have won a Mountain West-high 10 conference titles, will enter the upcoming campaign as the three-time defending regular-season champions. In the last three years alone, SDSU has averaged 28.7 victories, including a 28-win effort in 2015-16.