SOUTH BEND, IND. ? Notre Dame’s Chris Thomas wasn’t sure he would be a first-round pick, so he withdrew from the NBA draft Monday.

“It wasn’t about a guarantee; I just wasn’t comfortable with it being up in the air,” Thomas said.

Thomas, a 6-foot-1 point guard who will be a junior next season, said in May he would stay in the draft if he thought he would be among the first 20 players drafted. He later changed his mind and said he would stay in if he was confident he would be a first-round pick.

“I got great feedback,” he said. “There wasn’t anybody who guaranteed me, but at the same time they never said I’d go in the second round. All the teams were up in the air, saying mid to late first round, and I wasn’t comfortable not knowing where I’d fall.”

Notre Dame coach Mike Brey said Thomas made the right decision by testing the NBA waters and then made another when he decided to return to school.

“I really felt if he was going to be a first-round guy he would go, and he should go,” Brey said.

Brey said Thomas took a realistic view of his situation.

“There are 50 guys in the draft who think they are going in the first round,” he said.

Thomas had until Thursday to remove his name from the June 26 draft. He never hired an agent, which would have prevented him from changing his mind. He still has to reimburse eight NBA teams that paid his way for his personal workouts, including repaying costs for airfare, hotels and meals.

Thomas averaged 18.7 points last season. He led the Big East in assists (6.9), ranked second in the conference in free-throw percentage (.871) and sixth in the league in steals (1.82).

Notre Dame's Chris Thomas, right, listens as head coach Mike Brey talks about Thomas' decision to withdraw his name from the NBA draft. Thomas announced his decision Monday in South Bend, Ind.