Syracuse, N.Y. -- Syracuse center Dajuan Coleman is a senior.

Syracuse's game against North Carolina State on Saturday is the Orange's final home game of the season, which is the annual Senior Day.

But Coleman will not be participating in the Senior Day ceremonies. He will not be introduced prior to the game along with SU's seniors Trevor Cooney, Michael Gbinije and Christian White. He will not be presented with a framed No. 32 jersey.

On Wednesday, Coleman, who redshirted last season as he recovered from major knee surgery, confirmed that he will return to Syracuse for a fifth year next season.

"I'm definitely coming back.'' Coleman said. "I never really thought about doing anything else.''

Coleman has already earned his degree in child and human studies. He plans on beginning work toward a graduate degree next year.

"My plan is to start grad school. I'm going to start classes in the summer, but I'm not sure what I'm going to go into yet.''

He could have taken advantage of the NCAA's rule that allows student-athletes who have graduated and still have a year of eligibility to transfer to another school.

Coleman, a Syracuse native who attended Jamesville-DeWitt High School, said he never considered that option.

"No,'' he said flatly. "I never thought about that.''

Coleman said he feels encouraged by his ability to stay healthy throughout this season. A knee injury hampered him as a freshman. He started the first 12 games of his sophomore year, but another knee injury ended his season. He underwent surgery in January of 2014 that would force him to miss the entire 2014-15 season.

"My main focus coming into this season was to just keep getting better,'' he said. "I wanted to play the whole season. Finally getting a full year down makes it a good year for me.''

The 6-foot-9, 266-pound center is averaging 5.0 points and 4.4 rebounds per game. He's logged about 17 minutes a game.

"I'm a lot better this year than I was last year,'' Coleman said. "Last year, I wasn't playing. I couldn't even run. I think it's just going to keep progressing. I'm looking forward to it.''