After a standout season as one of the Pac-12’s most combustible scorers, Drew Peterson is running it back.

The lanky 6-foot-9 guard from Libertyville, Illinois, has withdrawn his name from the 2022 NBA Draft and will return to USC for the 2022-23 season. Peterson and Boogie Ellis both electing to spend one more season with the Trojans means coach Andy Enfield gets back two of his top three scorers from a team that won 26 games.

A Rice transfer from two years ago, Peterson excelled in his second season with the Trojans. He averaged a career-best 12.4 points a game all while shooting career-high marks across the board. He was at 47% from the field, 50% on 2s, and 41% on 3s, all as one of the focal points of the USC offense.

Peterson’s true shooting percentage (57.3%) tied Oregon’s Will Richardson for seventh among all Pac-12 players a season ago. Four of the players above him were big men.

Additionally, Peterson is a strong defensive player, using his length to bother other guards and his quickness to stay in front of bigger players. He tied Jaime Jaquez Jr. and Efe Abogidi for seventh among all Pac-12 players in defensive win shares.

Though the Trojans have lost Ethan Anderson and Max Agbonkpolo from the backcourt this offseason, Peterson’s return gives Enfield a promising three-guard lineup to work with moving forward. Between Peterson, Ellis, and rising guard Reese Dixon-Waters, the Trojans have a multi-faceted guard group to throw at teams. A big offseason from Dixon-Waters could see USC roll out one of the best backcourts in the conference.