Chase Audige certainly made everyone wait.
Northwestern's star guard had a deadline of 10:59 p.m. Central time to announce whether he would stay in the NBA Draft or return to college, and he used all but two hours and 19 minutes of it.
Wildcat fans didn't get the news they wanted -- or, more accurately, didn't want -- until CBS Sports' Jon Rothstein tweeted that Audige would remain in the draft at 9:41 p.m.
Few people expect Audige to get selected in June's NBA Draft, but whether he does or not, his Northwestern career is over. And what a career it was.
Audige will go down as one of the finest all-around guards, as well as one of the best transfers in school history. After coming to Northwestern in 2019 after a year at William & Mary, he started 81 of 82 games as a Wildcat and scored more than 1,000 points.
His best season was his last, when he was part of a dynamic backcourt duo, with point guard Boo Buie, that led the Wildcats to a second-place finish in the Big Ten and just the second NCAA Tournament bid in school history.
He averaged 14.1 points, 3.4 rebounds and 2.9 assists per game as the Wildcats went 22-12 and captured a first-round game in the tourney this season. They were also the first Northwestern team to win 12 Big Ten games and beat four ranked teams in a season.
Audige was named the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year after leading the conference with 81 steals and took home second-team All-Big Ten honors.
