While Big Blue Nation remains on hold for the NBA Draft decisions of Brandon Knight, Terrence Jones and even DeAndre Liggins, the annoucement that Doron Lamb will return for his sophomore season next year could have been nearly as important.

Although Lamb (12.3 scoring average) didn’t put up quite the numbers that Knight (17.3) and Jones (15.7) did, his importance should not be overshadowed. On a team that was remarkably better at shooting the ball, Lamb was easily UK’s top sharpshooter.

Lamb’s 48.6 percent shooting from 3-point range was the highest mark since Cameron Mills drained 53.2 percent of his shots during the 1996-97 season. Lamb’s 68 3-point field goals helped the team to the highest 3-point shooting mark (39.7 percent) in school history.

If Knight (37.7), Liggins (39.1) and Lamb were all to head to the pros, Kentucky would lose a lot of its identity — its shooting power — from last year. Sure, Darius Miller would be back and arguably John Calipari’s greatest signing class would be on its way in, but next year’s team would lack a bona fide shooting guard without Lamb.

As highly touted as Marquis Teague and Michael Gilchrist are, neither are known for their marksmanship. With the return of Lamb, Calipari will now have two solid scoring options from the perimeter, which should open up the interior for Anthony Davis, Kyle Wiltjer and Gilchrist.

The full release on Lamb’s return can be found here, which includes a quote from both Lamb and Calipari.

As far as the decisions of Knight, Jones and Liggins, they have until Sunday to declare for the NBA Draft, although I’m told they are very, very close to announcing.

And if you’re looking to express your excitement for Lamb’s decision, send him a message personally on Twitter. Lamb just joined the social media service. You can follow him @DLamb20.