Unfinished business
WHEN YOUNGSTERS start playing basketball, they are told they need to play with a chip on their shoulder, prove to people that they are better than others think.
WHEN YOUNGSTERS start playing basketball, they are told they need to play with a chip on their shoulder, prove to people that they are better than others think.
The players at Ohio State seem to get that. At Kansas? Not quite sure.
The Buckeyes' top two players, stung by Friday's 62-60 loss to Kentucky, said they will not enter the NBA draft and will return to Columbus. The six Jayhawks who have a decision to make? They're not sure.
Ohio State's Jared Sullinger made it clear to the Columbus Dispatch that the loss is the reason he won't put himself in the draft. "He said he made up his mind when his team's national championship chances ended with William Buford's last-second miss," wrote the Dispatch's Bob Hunter.
The Big Ten freshman of the year would have been a top-five pick.
"I'll be here," Sullinger told the Dispatch. "I don't like the look in people's eyes. I didn't like the taste that we had, losing. I don't appreciate losing. If I made a decision [to enter the draft], it would be off a win, not a loss." Gotta love the attitude.
Over at Kansas? Not sure. Could be the sting of losing to 11th-seed VCU by 10 yesterday made them indecisive. According to Matt Tait, of the Lawrence Journal-World, Philly twins Markieff and Marcus Morris, both juniors and projected to be first-round selections, said they don't know what they will do yet and that they'll take some time to decide.
Junior guard Tyshawn Taylor said he did not believe himself to be one of the guys who has to make a decision. And sophomore Thomas Robinson said only that he's not thinking about his future yet and that he would do whatever was best for him and his family. Finally, freshman guard Josh Selby also said he was not trying to think about the NBA right now.
One school's players want to come back and show everybody that they are a better team. The other school had to think about it. Just some food for thought for next year's bracket.
Two for Four
In ESPN's Tournament Challenge, there were 5.9 million entries and only two have the Final Four correct. Wonder if either of them live in Albany, N.Y., the home of the Mega Millions winner?
- Mark Perner