Davidson's Stephen Curry to NBA Draft

Davidson guard Stephen Curry will skip his senior season and take his sweet shooting stroke to the NBA.

After weeks struggling to decide, the nation's leading scorer announced Thursday that he'll enter the NBA draft, where he could be a lottery pick.

With his father, former Toronto Raptors sharpshooter Dell Curry, and Davidson coach Bob McKillop nearby, the nation's leading scorer said at an on-campus news conference that his goal has always been to play in the NBA.

"I think I'm mentally and physically ready to make that jump," said Curry, who believes he'll be selected somewhere between seventh and 20th overall. "This is a dream of mine since I was a little kid."

The lightly recruited Curry burst onto the national scene a year ago in helping tiny Davidson get within a missed a three-pointer of the Final Four. The six-foot-three Curry moved to point guard this season and averaged 28.6 points. He had 15 games of 30 or more points and three of 40 or more.

Curry, who said he'll hire an agent, took longer with his decision than expected. Two days after scoring 26 points in Davidson's loss to Saint Mary's in the NIT, Curry said he'd quickly make up his mind after speaking with his parents.

But Curry wavered because of his desire to get his college degree. Davidson does not have a summer school program, which will make it difficult for Curry to finish his required courses outside the NBA season.

Curry told school officials Wednesday afternoon he would announce his decision on Thursday, but didn't tell McKillop or his father what he'd do. About 30 minutes before the news conference, sports information director Marc Gignac acknowledged he didn't know the decision and had been unable to write a news release.

The decision captivated the region, with four Charlotte-area television stations broadcasting the news conference live. Curry said he finally made up his mind 90 minutes earlier while "eating an omelette" at breakfast.

"It took me that long to figure it out," Curry said. "I decided to sleep on it last night. I was at peace this morning and that's what I was looking for."

Despite a weaker supporting cast than a season ago, Curry shot 45 per cent from the field in 2008-09, including 39 per cent from three-point range. He was voted a first-team Associated Press all-American.

He finished his college career with a school record 2,635 points, the most in school history. If Curry had returned for his senior season, he would have had an outside shot at breaking Pete Maravich's NCAA Division I record of 3,667 points.

"He's become the face of college basketball. He's become the face of Davidson basketball," McKillop said, tears in his eyes. "As special as he has been to us, he will be equally special in the NBA. I've been incredibly fortunate to have the opportunity to coach him these three years.

While Curry is perhaps the best shooter in college basketball, there are questions about how successful he'll be in the NBA. Curry will have to beef up his slight frame to withstand the rigours of an 82-game schedule. He's also still adjusting to the move to point guard, a position he'll likely have to play be a starter in the NBA.

Curry struggled at times when facing taller defenders with long arms, a likely nightly occurrence at the next level. But his lightning-quick release, surprising quickness, high basketball IQ and late growth spurt will make lottery teams take notice.

Dell Curry told him he probably wouldn't better his draft position if he stayed in school.

"He's shown that he can play and he's ready," the elder Curry said.

Curry has plenty of high-profile fans, too. Cleveland Cavaliers star LeBron James attended a Davidson NCAA tournament game last year and sat courtside in December when Curry scored 44 points in a win over North Carolina State.

"He's like a (Richard) Hamilton in our league. He never stops moving," James said after that game. "He's the type of player that's hard to guard no matter how big you are. Guys in the NBA don't want to continue to chase guys like that."

The major schools ignored Curry in high school because he was just five-foot-nine in his junior year. He reached six feet as a freshman at Davidson and grew three more inches. After getting an MRI on an injured ankle in February, Curry said a doctor told him his growth plates showed he could sprout another two inches.

His father had a similar late growth spurt at Virginia Tech. Dell Curry then spent 16 years in the NBA, including 10 seasons with the Charlotte Hornets and three with the Raptors. He works in the Charlotte Bobcats' front office.

Curry clearly enjoyed attending the small, liberal arts school 30 kilometres north of Charlotte, N.C. He has said that he wanted to graduate, and a rule requiring Davidson players to have a degree before their number is retired could delay No. 30 being raised to the Belk Arena rafters.

Curry met with the school's president to see if other arrangements could be made to get his degree, but was told he'd have to take most of his senior-year courses on campus.

"It'd be nice to have that diploma on my wall one day," Curry said. "I'm committed to it. I'll come back maybe when basketball is over."

Isiah Thomas to Coach Florida International

Isiah Thomas is back in the coaching business.

The former New York Knicks president and coach Isiah Thomas was hired as Florida International's basketball coach Tuesday, a move that gives the Hall of Fame player another chance to revive his career.

Financial terms of his five-year contract weren't immediately released. A news conference to introduce Thomas was planned for Wednesday.

Thomas helped the Detroit Pistons win two NBA championships as a point guard before becoming part-owner and executive vice-president of basketball for the expansion Toronto Raptors. He went on to coach the Indiana Pacers before taking over in New York, where an array of problems marred his tenure. He has never coached at the college level.

Undeterred, FIU moved quickly to lock up their top choice for the job.

"We are very excited to have such a legendary athlete and proven winner in Isiah Thomas to lead our men's basketball program," FIU athletic director Pete Garcia said. "There is no doubt that Isiah will give FIU a tremendous opportunity to take the basketball program to the highest level."

Thomas comes to FIU after several years of losing and legal problems in New York.

The Knicks finished 23-59 a year a go, prompting Thomas' firing. They never won a playoff game in his stay as president or coach, and his overall record in New York is 56-108.

Knicks president Donnie Walsh said "I think it's a great thing for him and it's kind of what I wanted for him from the day I let him go."

In 2007, a jury ordered Knicks owners Madison Square Garden to pay $11.6 million to a former team executive who was sexually harassed by Thomas. That, along with all the losing by the Knicks, brought on a wave of "Fire Isiah!" chants that would typically start soon after tip-off at MSG.

Then this past October, Thomas had to deal with a new issue. Officers responded to his New York-area home after a 911 call reporting an overdose on sleeping pills. According to police reports, those officers found a man passed out on the floor and gave him oxygen until an ambulance arrived.

Authorities never publicly identified Thomas as the victim, but a person familiar with the case later confirmed to the AP that it was the former NBA star.

FIU is hoping Thomas can build a winner.

The Golden Panthers have lost 20 games in three of the last four years, and haven't had a winning record since going 16-14 in the 1999-2000 season. FIU finished fifth in the six-team Sun Belt East Division this past season, and only averaged 693 fans for its home games - one of the lowest totals in Division I.

"I think we can get good players from across Florida and around the country to buy into our plan to make this a top-tier basketball program," Thomas said in a statement released by the school. "I'm committed to growing something here, and strongly believe that over time, we'll put a team on the floor that everyone at FIU can be proud of."

Thomas replaces Sergio Rouco, who was reassigned Monday after posting a losing record in each of his five seasons as coach

And even before the hiring was announced, the mere mention of Thomas coaching at FIU was a galvanizing topic for conversation in South Florida.

"This is bigger than basketball and bigger than athletics," said FIU president Modesto A. Maidique. "Having a nationally-recognized coach like Isiah at FIU will have a positive impact on our university as a whole, helping us achieve additional national exposure."

With Thomas on board, national exposure is certain.

He played his college ball at Indiana for Bob Knight, helping the Hoosiers win the 1981 national championship. From there, he spent his NBA playing career with the Pistons, appeared in 11 all-star games and was the MVP of the 1990 NBA finals, when Detroit won its second straight title.

"Coming back to the college game has always been a dream of mine, and I didn't want to pass up an opportunity to go somewhere where we can build a basketball legacy together," Thomas said.

His overall NBA coaching record ins 187-223. He led the Indiana Pacers to the playoffs in three straight years from 2000-03.

Arizona's Chase Budinger to NBA Draft

University of Arizona junior forward Chase Budinger will forgo his senior season to test the NBA waters, it was announced on Tuesday.

The Tucson Citizen reported that Budinger, who had entered his name for last year's draft before returning to the Wildcats for his junior season, will make the jump permanent this time around.

Budinger averaged 18.0 points and 6.2 rebounds during his third season in Tucson, helping Arizona to a 21-14 record on the season with a 9-9 mark in Pac-10 action. The Wildcats were then bounced in the Sweet 16 by Louisville.

The 6-7 Budinger is expected to be a first-round draft pick in this summer's draft. He earned Pac-10 Freshman of the Year honors in 2006-07 after averaging 15.6 points and 5.8 rebounds per game.

Budinger's departure will leave new head coach Sean Miller searching for a new forward. Miller was introduced as head coach during a Tuesday press conference.

ASU's James Harden to NBA Draft

Arizona State sophomore guard James Harden has reportedly decided to declare for the NBA Draft this summer.

The Arizona Republic reported Tuesday that the 19-year-old Harden is seeking representation and is expected to make an official announcement on Wednesday. Underclassmen are allowed to withdraw their names from the draft up until June 15 provided they don't hire an agent.

Harden became the first player in school history to receive first-team All- America honors from the Associated Press this season after averaging a Pac-10 best 20.1 points per game to pair with 5.6 rebounds and 4.2 assists in the Sun Devils' run to the NCAA Tournament, where they were bounced by Syracuse in the second round. The 6-5 Harden was also named Pac-10 Player of the Year after garnering first-team All Pac-10 honors as a freshman.

Arizona State finished 25-10 overall and 11-7 in Pac-10 play in the program's second-best season in school history while logging a second consecutive 20-win season for the first time since the 1979-80 and 1980-81 campaigns.

Michael Jordan's Son to Play at Central Florida

Michael Jordan's youngest son says he'll play basketball at Central Florida next season.

Marcus Jordan, a six-foot-three,180-pound senior guard at Chicago Whitney Young, made up his mind after visiting the campus in Orlando, Fla., last week.

Whitney Young coach Tyrone Slaughter says Marcus Jordan was looking for a place he could play, have an impact and feel comfortable on campus.

His decision came Monday, the same day his Chicago Bulls' six-time champion father was elected into the Basketball Hall of Fame.

Last month, the younger Jordan scored a game-high 19 points to lead Whitney Young to a 69-66 victory over Waukegan in the Illinois Class 4A championship.

His older brother, Jeff Jordan, plays basketball for the University of Illinois.

North Carolina Tar Heels Win NCAA Title

North Carolina overwhelmed Michigan State with a record performance in the first half, and in the end the Tar Heels were dancing in the Motor City with their fifth NCAA Tournament title.

With a championship-game record crowd of 72,922 at Ford Field and the majority of fans rooting for Michigan State, the Tar Heels swarmed the Spartans in the opening 20 minutes, and North Carolina added to its championship lore with an 89-72 win.

The defense was awesome too with Ty Lawson, the ACC Player of the Year, compiling 21 points, six assists and a championship-game record eight steals. The Tar Heels forced 21 turnovers and beat Michigan State in a rematch that had a similar ring to the December 3 matchup at Ford Field, when UNC rolled to a 98-63 victory as part of the ACC/Big Ten Challenge.

Wayne Ellington had 19 points, while Tyler Hansbrough tallied 18 points and seven boards for the Tar Heels (34-4), who tied Indiana for third-most championships, trailing only UCLA (11) and Kentucky (7). Ellington was named the Final Four's Most Outstanding Player.

"It feels great. You never know what this feels like until you experience it," said Ellington. "It's something that you really can't explain."

UNC raced to a 55-34 advantage at the break, negating any supposed home-crowd advantage the Spartans had in the contest playing only 91 miles from their campus in East Lansing. The point total was the most-ever in the first half for a title game and the margin was the most in championship-game annals.

North Carolina kept that comfortable double-digit margin throughout the second half. In fact, the Tar Heels, who beat Villanova Saturday, won by at least 12 points in every game of this tournament, on the way to their second championship in five years with this being one of the most dominant runs in history.

"All year long everybody anointed this team and they played their tail off," said UNC head coach Roy Williams at the on-court ceremony after the game. "We had a couple of bumps in the road. They handled injuries, they handled some losses. The only thing I know is the youngsters standing behind me are great, great young men. I'm the luckiest coach in America."

In 2005, North Carolina coach Roy Williams finally won his first national championship when the Tar Heels beat Illinois. Now he'll have to deal with a whole new team for next season, as Hansbrough, Danny Green and likely Lawson will all head to the NBA. Hansbrough nearly went pro last year, but decided he needed to come back and lead his team to a championship.

"This is the best way to go out. I couldn't picture it any other way," said Hansbrough. "What we've been through this year, we climbed and we did it."

Last year, the Tar Heels were beaten in the national semifinals by eventual champion Kansas.

"We've been working so hard since last year when we fell short," said Ellington. "We wanted to redeem ourselves."

Goran Suton had 17 points and 11 rebounds for the Spartans (31-7), who were denied their third NCAA title, having won the championship game in 1979 and 2000. The Spartans, who beat Connecticut on Saturday in the Final Four, also received 14 points and seven assists from Kalin Lucas, and 13 points from Durrell Summers.

"It was awesome to see the place stay filled till the very end when I thought our fans could have left," said Michigan State coach Tom Izzo. "It was great to see this senior class go out the way they did. It was a struggle to get here, and they had a lot of pressure on them, and I thought they handled it incredibly well. We looked like a team that ran out of gas a little bit, maybe deservingly so."

Suton didn't play in that December game because of a knee injury, but his presence didn't help to stop UNC's powerful front line. North Carolina took advantage of the lightning pace, hitting six of its first seven shots from the field, all while racing to a 17-7 lead. Hansbrough capped the burst with a jumper.

Ed Davis then made a layup, and Lawson came up with an immediate steal. Even though Bobby Frasor missed a quick three-ball, Ellington was right under the basket for a layup.

UNC continued to dominate, with Hansbrough hitting an inside shot with nearly 10 1/2 minutes left in the half for a 31-11 cushion. Davis' layup made it 36-13.

Each time the Spartans tried to cut their deficit, the Tar Heels had an answer. Lawson had seven steals by halftime and UNC forced 14 turnovers over the initial 20 minutes.

"He is a fast player," said Lucas of Lawson. "So I was trying to press him a little bit. We were just trying to get stops. We were losing by a large amount, so we just tried to get stops on defense, trying to come on offense and get something good."

Hansbrough's jumper expanded the lead to 59-36 with 18:15 remaining and it remained at least a 16-point difference until Spartans tried to come back in the final 10 minutes.

A three-pointer by Suton from the left corner cut the margin to 74-59 with 6:14 left. The Spartans got within 13 twice, the last time at 78-65 on a pair of free throws from Summers with 4:46 to go, but Williams never let his club relax.

Lawson drove in for a layup to stem the tide and then after an offensive foul on Lucas, the UNC point guard nailed two free throws for a 17-point cushion with 3:25 remaining.

Williams subbed his regulars with 1:03 remaining and the decision well in hand.

"It's an unbelievable feeling. I was standing down on the court in '05, when we won the thing," said Williams. "We celebrated quite a bit Monday night, didn't go to bed, got back Tuesday and had a great celebration on campus. I left on Wednesday morning to go recruiting at 6 a.m. My rear-end's going somewhere either Wednesday or Thursday because I enjoy this feeling."

Oklahoma's Blake Griffin Wins Wooden Award

Blake Griffin keeps picking up trophies on his way to the NBA.

The Oklahoma sophomore won the John R. Wooden Award as U.S. college basketball's top player on Friday only three days after he announced that he would turn pro. DeJuan Blair and Tyler Hansbrough, two other finalists, did not show up for the ceremony, which was held at the Los Angeles Athletic Club.

Griffin, who became the first Oklahoma player to win the award, led the nation with 30 double-doubles.

"It means a lot to me to represent my state and represent my school. It's really very humbling," Griffin said.

The forward was a bit subdued during the affair, mostly because he was hungry.

"We placed our orders for dinner a while ago, so I'm waiting on that. It's been a while."

The award gave Griffin a sweep of this season's individual honours. The forward won The Associated Press College Basketball Player of the Year earlier this month as well as the Naismith award. He was also picked by The Sporting News as Player of the Year.

The last two weeks have been a whirlwind for Griffin, who has a solid shot of being the number one selection in the upcoming draft.

"It's been crazy. I'm just trying to take it all in stride. Coach (Jeff) Capel and my family have been with me every step of the way. It's been a whirlwind, but it's been fun," Griffin said.

And what about that draft buzz?

"I'm going into it as I don't know where I'm going to be drafted. If I don't get drafted number one, it's not like this was a bad decision or this whole year was a failure."

Last year, Griffin opted out of turning pro to play alongside his brother, Taylor, and to take another crack at making a deep run into the NCAA tournament.

Oklahoma lost to Hansbrough and the Tar Heels in the regional finals.

But he had nothing bad to say about North Carolina's post player and was honoured to have been mentioned along with Hansbrough and Blair for the award.

"Those two guys have been the best player and most respected in their programs, Tyler for four years and DeJuan for two. Tyler's been the face of college basketball for a long time now and he's been so consistent," Griffin said.

"DeJuan was a huge part of their team that was number one for a while. They're both part of great programs and kind of the cornerstones of it."

Connecticut's Maya Moore won the women's award, four days after winning the national title and completing a perfect season for UConn.

The sophomore, who became the first UConn player to win the award since it was given to women starting in 2004, beat out Oklahoma's Courtney Paris, with 176 votes to Paris' 133.

Winning the award ranked high on her list, but came in second to winning the title.

"It's up there. I think winning the national championship is the greatest thing because so many people are a part of it," Moore said.

"But to be associated with a man like John Wooden is great. He's done so much for basketball and I think is a large part of where we are today. A lot of coaches have learned from him and I've been able to benefit from the legacy he left. This is a great honour."

Her coach, Geno Auriemma, wasn't at the ceremony because of a delayed flight.

"It's OK. I'll forgive him," Moore said.

Moore had 19.3 points per game and was the Big East Player of the Year.

More than 300 voters choose the women's award winner and more than 1,000 voters select the men's winner.

Griffin won in a landslide, with 3,960 votes while Hansbrough, last year's winner, had 3,004.

He averaged 22.7 points and 14.4 rebounds.

The awards are named for the former UCLA coach who led the Bruins to 10 NCAA championships in 12 years before retiring in 1975.

Wooden didn't attend the ceremony. His family announced in August 2005 that he would no longer participate because of a trademark dispute concerning the use of his name.

Pittsburgh's DeJuan Blair to NBA Draft

DeJuan Blair guaranteed Pitt coach Jamie Dixon a year ago that he would play a full college career. One exceptional season changed all that.

Blair said Wednesday he will declare for the NBA draft and has begun hiring representatives, ending any possibility that the All-America centre could return for his junior season.

Blair is projected as a mid- to late first-round pick, but his status could change -- for better or worse -- once he goes through the NBA's various pre-draft workouts. Blair plans to hire an agent within the next several weeks, and has retained Pittsburgh lawyer James Cook to handle him in marketing and advertising matters.

Blair, the only Pitt player in the last 50 years to make first-team All-America, could have returned to Pitt next season if he didn't hire an agent or any other representative, but retaining Cook means Blair no longer has that option.

"There ain't no turning back," said Blair, who initially planned to leave his options open but decided only in the last few days that he was turning pro regardless. "I don't think you should have gone into this situation unless you know you're a first-round pick or not. I'm guaranteed of (being) a first-round pick, and I'm going to work hard to get to where I want to be. I control my destination and I'll be all right."

Asked what guarantees him of being a first-rounder with the draft 2 1/2 months off and teams still evaluating talent, Blair said, "I'm an Internet freak and I go on all the draft boards, and nobody's got me going second round. That's almost guaranteed to me."

Blair's decision is a gamble partly because he has twice undergone reconstructive knee surgery, a red flag for NBA teams seeking durability in a league where teams play more than twice as many games per season as college teams do.

Also, his weight as been a problem in the past -- the six-foot-seven Blair weighed more than 300 pounds in high school, but now is about 260.

"I had to do what's best for me," said Blair, who doesn't want to risk another knee injury in college. "No one else made the decision but me. . . . I've heard all the downfalls about me being too big or me being too small. That's just motivation. . . . I'm not going to tell them what I can do in the NBA, I'm going to show them what I can do."

Several dozen family members whispered words of encouragement as Blair spoke, with ex-teammates and former Pitt stars such as Brandin Knight and Sam Clancy gathered in a crowded interview room to hear his remarks.

"I think he's an NBA player," Dixon said of Blair, who grew up about a kilometre from Pitt's campus. "I told him that from the time we recruited him. I've always had a higher opinion of him than most scouting services and coaches and most media observers. I always thought of him as an NBA player."

Dixon and Blair met several times this week to discuss his status, and the coach passed on information he received from NBA general managers.

Blair is an in-between size for an NBA inside player, but is an instinctive rebounder -- he easily led major college players in offensive rebounding -- and he was not overmatched physically even against centres who were seven or eight inches taller.

Among the college season's signature moments was when the muscular Blair flipped UConn's seven-foot-three Hasheem Thabeet over his shoulder and to the court as the two contested a rebound. Blair joked that the NBA "is just bigger people, and every game is going to be like the UConn games."

"His size is not a hindrance in my mind," Dixon said. "It was just something he would overcome, as he had in high school and then college."

Blair averaged 15.7 points and 12.3 rebounds this season and was the Big East co-player of the year with Thabeet. Blair helped Pitt (31-5) to its first No. 1 national ranking, its first No. 1 seeding in the NCAA tournament and its first trip to the NCAA round of eight in 35 years.

"I've done everything an individual can do," Blair said. "I had a heck of an individual year and a heck of a team year. I got all-first team everything and I'm up for the Naismith and Wooden awards. . . . I'm already up on top, I'm on top of the ladder and I can only climb back down (in college). If your dream is in your face, why not go reach it?"

Pitt lost only to fellow Big East teams: Villanova twice, including the East regional final, plus Louisville, Providence and West Virginia, but now must replace fourth-fifths of its starting lineup. The Panthers also lose seniors Sam Young, Levance Fields and Tyrell Biggs, plus Blair, the biggest one-season talent hit they've taken since re-emerging as a Top 25 team eight seasons ago.

The Panthers haven't had an NBA first-round pick since guard Vonteego Cummings in 1999, but they could have two this year with Blair and Young.

Blair's predecessor at centre, Aaron Gray, went through pre-draft workouts in 2006 but returned for his senior season. He was a second-round pick by the Chicago Bulls a year later.

Pitt sophomore centre Chris Taft left after two seasons in 2005 and was projected as a first-round pick, but he slipped into the second round and is no longer in the league.

Cook, who has represented sports clients such as boxer Roy Jones Jr., projects Blair could go between the eighth and 20th picks in the first round.

"This smile of mine is going to be worth a million dollars," Blair said. "It's going to be cool."

UConn Coach Jim Calhoun to Return

The University of Connecticut announced Thursday that men's head basketball coach Jim Calhoun will return for a 24th season with the school in the 2009-10 season.

The 66-year-old Calhoun indicated he was thinking about ending his job following the program's 82-73 Final Four loss to Michigan State last Saturday, noting he would contemplate his future with the Huskies, but said he didn't "plan to go anyplace."

"It is my full intention to return for the 2009-10 season," said Calhoun through a release from the school. "I look forward to coaching next season and to continuing as the head coach at Connecticut into the future. In many ways, the journey of this past season has made me realize how much I love coaching this game, how much I love my kids and how much I enjoy being at Connecticut."

Calhoun will enter his 37th year as a collegiate head coach and has 805 career wins, sixth-most all-time in Division I among men's coaches. He's coached in more games (1,147) than any other active Division I head coach. Already a member of the Basketball Hall of Fame, he led the team to the national title in 1999 and 2004.

However, UConn is staring in the face of possible NCAA rules violations in the recruitment of Nate Miles, who was expelled from school in October of 2008 without even practicing with the Huskies. A six-month investigation from Yahoo! Sports said Miles was provided with lodging, meals and transportation by Josh Nochimson -- a professional agent and a former UConn student manager.

"I have never really questioned. I said I will look, like I do every spring," said Calhoun about his future following the program's third trip to the Final Four. "Dean Smith gave me the best advice, 'don't take it after your worst loss or your best win. Wait during the spring, make an evaluation, how excited are you to coach next year? And that's a great time to do it.' That's a great time to do it. So therefore it's the same procedure I would use any year. But it has been speculated, but that's mainly because people keep asking me the questions. A, (there) probably would be some people who wouldn't mind me leaving, and, B, some might be curious."

At the same time, Calhoun said that "some of the things, some of the disappointments I've had, particularly over the past couple weeks," has bothered him.

"I don't think they've ever given me the benefit of the doubt. For that, it's a personal thing," Calhoun said after the loss. "I probably shouldn't be expressing it, but that's just who I am. I couldn't be more disappointed in people who just jump on and make two people all of a sudden become the expert on who Jim Calhoun is. That's incredibly disappointing to me."

The Huskies earned a 16th NCAA bid this season with a No. 1 seed in the West Region following a 27-3 regular season which included a 15-2 mark in the vaunted Big East Conference.

UConn's Hasheem Thabeet to NBA Draft

Connecticut's Hasheem Thabeet will give up his final year of college eligibility and enter the NBA draft.

The 7-foot-3 centre from Tanzania said Tuesday that he made the decision after speaking to family, friends and coach Jim Calhoun.

"I have had a great experience at Connecticut and cannot thank my coaches and teammates enough," Thabeet said in a statement released by the school. "I look forward to the challenge of playing professionally and know that my time here at UConn has prepared me to be successful in the future."

Calhoun called Thabeet "one of the most dominant defensive players in the history of college basketball," and said he believes he's ready to make the move to the NBA.

"He is a special player and even more special as a person," Calhoun said. "He will truly be remembered as one of the great players in UConn history, not only for his accomplishments, but also because of the type of person he is."

Thabeet, the Big East co-Player of the Year with Pittsburgh's DeJuan Blair, averaged 13.6 points, 10.8 rebounds and 4.2 blocked shots per game in helping the Huskies to a 31-5 record and a Final Four berth.

He becomes the 11th player from Connecticut to declare early for the NBA draft. Nine of the others were picked in the first round, and eight of those were lottery selections.

Thabeet had been playing organized basketball for less than five years when he came to Connecticut from Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, by way of the Cypress Christian School in Houston.

He considered turning pro after both his freshmen and sophomore seasons.

The school said Thabeet plans to hire an agent, a move that would eliminate the possibility that he could withdraw his name before June 15 and retain his collegiate eligibility.

John Calipari Leaves Memphis for Kentucky

New Wildcats basketball John Calipari told the Kentucky faithful Wednesday that he is was not the "grand poobah" or the "emperor."

He got a king's ransom, however, to leave Memphis.

Before the news conference, Kentucky's athletics board approved an eight-year, US$31.65-million contract that makes Calipari the highest paid NCAA basketball coach. Athletic director Mitch Barnhart defended the salary saying the university paid a premium price to get their guy, adding Calipari can flat out coach.

He might need to find a magic wand. Kentucky fired Billy Gillispie last Friday after two seasons and he went 40-27, including losing 14 games this season and failing to lead the Wildcats into the NCAA tournament.

"The challenge of being here is competing for national titles, but winning them," Calipari said. "But that's what you buy into when you come here."

And Kentucky has demonstrated its willing to pay whatever it takes to back to that level.

Calipari's decision to take the job didn't come easy. He spent more than a day mulling Kentucky's lucrative offer while reporters camped outside his home.

"This decision was extremely hard," Calipari said. "It wasn't coming here, this was easy. It was leaving Memphis. The support that my family and I received over the years there ... to walk away from that was very difficult."

Calipari had such strong ties to Memphis that after his UK introduction, he was expected to fly back to Memphis for an afternoon news conference during which university officials were expected to discuss the future of their basketball program.

Calipari, 50, knows what he is getting into at Kentucky. He said before he made his decision, he reached out to several former Wildcats coaches.

"I talked to coach (Joe B.) Hall. I talked to Tubby Smith. I talked to Eddie Sutton. And I talked to Rick Pitino about this job. And ... none of those coaches would trade their time here for anything in the world.

"This is pretty heady stuff for me."

Calipari is 445-140 in 17 seasons, leading both Memphis and Massachusetts to the Final Four. He said he has long dreamed of coaching U.S. college basketball's winningest program.

"This was a dream I've had since we brought our team down here," Calipari said. "I believe it was 1992, we had won the Alaskan Shootout, came down here to play and I could not believe the environment. At that point I said -- 'I would love to coach there some day.' "

That day has come and he has Calipari has work to do. The Wildcats have not been in the Final Four the past 11 seasons. And Calipari cautioned Kentucky's fan base not to expect too much too soon, as he had informed Barnhart and university president Lee Todd.

"I told Dr. Todd and Mitch, if you want something to happen in a year, do not hire me," Calipari said. "That's now how I do things."

Barnhart said after firing Gillispie that he wanted to hire a coach that embraced what the Kentucky job meant, on and off the court. Calipari sounded like he understood what they meant.

"Our goals will be to make the entire commonwealth proud of this team, proud of their program, proud of their team by our work on the court and our integrity off the court," he said.

Calipari's deal eclipses the $3.5 million average salary of Florida's Billy Donovan and dwarfs those of Calipari's predecessors Pitino, Smith and Gillispie.

Pitino, now the coach at rival Louisville, never made more than $2 million a season during his remarkably successful eight-year run at Kentucky. Smith's compensation neared $2.1 million at the end of his decade with the program and Gillispie received a base salary of $2.3 million with another $750,000 available in incentives.

The salary nearly triples the $1.6-million salary of Kentucky football coach Rich Brooks, a rarity in a conference where football reigns.

Calipari has a reputation as one of the NCAA's best recruiters, and it's possible some of his latest recruits will follow him to Lexington. Still, the cardboard is hardly bare at Kentucky.

The Wildcats went 22-14 this year, missing the NCAA tournament for the first time since 1991 despite having two of the SEC's best players in guard Jodie Meeks and forward Patrick Patterson.

Patterson said after the season he'd likely return for his junior year, while Meeks -- a second-team All-American -- was going to take his time on a decision.

Hiring Calipari might be all the incentive they need.

Michigan State Beats Louisville 64-52

Goran Suton finished with 19 points and 10 rebounds, as second-seeded Michigan State dominated the NCAA Tournament's top seed, Louisville, 64-52, to win the Midwest Region and advance to the Final Four.

Durrell Summers added 12 points and Kalin Lucas had 10 for Michigan State (30-6), which shot 8-for-16 from three-point range and advanced to its fifth Final Four in the last 11 years. MSU will face the top seed from the West Region, Connecticut, in a national semifinal in Detroit.

"(Suton) in the middle was great. These guards did a great job of getting him the ball in there," Michigan State head coach Tom Izzo said. "That's where we felt we could get it. He operated in there. It was just as big a win as our school has had because we're going to Detroit. That's been a dream and a goal since the day they announced where the Final Four was in 2009."

Michigan State held Louisville (31-6) to only 38.3 percent shooting, one game after the Cardinals scored 103 points and made 57.6 percent of their shots in a Sweet 16 win over Arizona.

Earl Clark had 19 points to pace Louisville, whose nation-best 13-game win streak was snapped. The Cardinals' season ended in the Elite Eight for a second consecutive year, as they lost to North Carolina in last season's tourney. Clark made 8-of-17 shots, but the rest of his team went 10-for-30 from the field.

"I just think that it was a grind 'em game," Louisville head coach Rick Pitino said. "They're probably a little bit better at that style. Though we've played slow and won this year, they're probably a little bit better at that style than we are. We couldn't get out on a break as much as we wanted. The tempo was definitely in their favor."

Louisville won the Big East's regular-season title and conference tourney on the way to receiving the NCAA tourney's top overall seed and was playing for a chance to become the third Big East team to reach the Final Four. UConn and Villanova had already secured spots, but Louisville struggled in the loss, as Michigan State - the Big Ten's regular season champion - moved on.

Korie Lucious hit a three pointer to close a back-and-forth first half, in which neither team led by more than three points, to give Michigan State a 30-27 lead.

It was similarly close at the beginning of the second half, but Michigan State started to gain some separation inside of 13 minutes to play.

After Clark's layup got Louisville within 37-36, the Spartans' Draymond Green countered with a lay-in of his own. Green then stole the ball from Edgar Sosa, which led to a Summers dunk. The five-point margin was the largest for either team at that point.

Terrence Jennings then made 1-of-2 foul shots for Louisville, and on Michigan State's next possession, Chris Allen missed a three. But he beat Louisville to the rebound, which led to a Summers jumper with 11 1/2 minutes to go.

After a Terrence Williams miss for the Cardinals - he was 1-for-7 overall - Summers drilled a three-pointer for a 46-37 MSU lead with 10:50 left. The teams traded threes, and Suton sank 1-of-2 from the line to extend the Spartans' lead to double digits, 50-40.

Louisville got its deficit back to nine several times, but Michigan State scored six consecutive points down the stretch to essentially put the game away.

Suton provided one free throw and Green followed with a tip-in after a Cardinals turnover. That put Michigan State ahead by 12, but Louisville got a steal and a chance to get back in the game with 6 1/2 minutes left. But Williams missed a three-pointer, and Summers drilled a three on the other end for a 58-43 lead with 5:50 to go.

Michigan State went ahead 64-47 on a Green jumper with 2:48 left, and cruised to the finish.

North Carolina Tar Heels Beat Villanova 83-69

Men vs. boys. Big brother vs. little brother. Future pros against a bunch of good college kids.

That summed up North Carolina's 83-69 victory over Villanova on Saturday night. The ultra-talented Tar Heels simply never gave the Wildcats a chance to breathe, let alone whip up a fresh dose of Final Four magic.

Ty Lawson scored 22 points, Wayne Ellington had 20 more and the Tar Heels, with their four, five, maybe more NBA-calibre players, stayed on a path that has seemed almost certain since the season began in November.

Tyler Hansbrough had 18 points and 11 rebounds to make this a quite successful return to the Final Four after a remarkable dud last year in a semifinal loss to Kansas. Next up, North Carolina (33-4) goes for its second title in five years Monday against Michigan State, an 82-73 winner over Connecticut.

"It feels good to be back here to get another shot," Carolina forward Deon Thompson said. "Now that we have an opportunity, we have to seize it."

The Spartans, located 144 kilometres up the road in East Lansing, will certainly have the crowd on their side. The talent gap, though? Eek. They'll have to be at least 35 points better than they were in December when the teams met in this same building - a 98-63 UNC romp.

"They had a couple players that were hurt and came off a long road stretch," Lawson said. "We know they're a better team right now."

Meanwhile, Villanova (30-8) ends a successful season two wins short of its first title since 1985, when Rollie Massimino coaxed one of the greatest upsets in sports history out of his guys - 66-64 over Patrick Ewing, John Thompson and Georgetown.

Thompson was on press row doing radio and Massimino was chomping his gum nervously behind the Villanova bench, part of the record crowd of 72,456 at Ford Field - half gone and streaming toward the exits with five minutes left.

But James Naismith himself probably couldn't have helped 'Nova out of this one.

North Carolina simply had too much talent.

"They played a great game and are playing extremely well," Villanova coach Jay Wright said. "They've got all the pieces, and we have great respect for them. We've been getting better every game, and we did not get better tonight." Carolina did.

Last season, in one of the more inexplicable performances in Final Four history, the Tar Heels trailed Kansas 40-12 midway through the first half. This time, they led 40-23.

"I've been there. I was there a year ago," North Carolina coach Roy Williams said. "It feels like somebody jerks your heart out and shakes it."

Ellington made five of his first six shots, including a three-pointer after a perfect crosscourt pass over the top from Danny Green. Nobody had an answer for Hansbrough, who once found himself bodied up with Dante Cunningham, faked left, then spun to the baseline and saw no more resistance - a way-too-easy layup.

Lawson, he of the injured toe and the successful trip to the craps table in downtown Detroit a few nights previous - well, he stayed on a roll, going 5-for-11 with eight assists and seven rebounds. Had he shot better than 10-for-17 from the line, this game might have been more lopsided.

And so, what began as tournament with great potential for the Big East - three top seeds, two in the Final Four - will end with the conference on the sideline.

"Right now, Carolina proved that regardless of conference, they're playing the best basketball in the country right now," Wright said. "So did Michigan State."

No disrespect to Villanova, which did, in fact, make this interesting for a brief time. The Wildcats cut the deficit to five early in the second half. It could have been three, but Cunningham's jumper went halfway in before cruelly rimming out.

Green answered with a three-pointer, then the Tar Heels got a steal and layup from Lawson to push the lead back to 10. That took all of 64 seconds.

"Big-time players make big-time shots in big-time games," Ellington said of Green's three.

Though the rest of the second half was a jumbled mess for both teams - which allowed Villanova to stay in shouting distance - the Wildcats never got it back under double digits.

It was a typical no-quit effort from Wright's group of seasoned upperclassmen, who battled through the Big East and started putting it together come tournament time.

Scottie Reynolds will always have that indelible end-to-end game-winning layup against Pittsburgh last weekend that got Villanova to its Final Four since '85. His first basket in this one, however, didn't come until more than nine minutes were gone and the deficit was in double digits. He finished with 17 points on 6-for-18 shooting.

Cunningham, the Wildcats' leading scorer and rebounder this season, had 12 and 12. Reggie Redding had 15 points, and Corey Fisher scored 13 in 5-for-19 shooting.

A lot of the Villanova stats didn't look so bad. They got five more rebounds and were even in the turnover battle. They hustled and dove on the floor all night.

But as the game was getting out of reach early, they simply couldn't defend. North Carolina shot 67 per cent while opening that 17-point lead in the first half. The Tar Heels led 49-40 at halftime.

And the Wildcats couldn't shoot. 'Nova shot 33 per cent from the floor, not exactly the 78.6 per cent from that "perfect game" back in '85. They were even worse from three-point range - 5-for-27. And there were way too many scenes reminiscent of big brother vs. little brother: Where the Villanova player would drive the middle, make a few head fakes and the Carolina guy would just stand there, wait for the histrionics to end and block or alter the shot.

"Even when shots don't fall, we pride ourselves on find a way to win," senior Dwayne Anderson said. "We didn't find a way tonight."

What resulted was, quite simply, what it looks like when a roster of very good college players goes up against a team full of NBA-calibre talent.

Hansbrough. Freshman forward Ed Davis. Lawson. Green. Ellington. The last three in that group actually considered the NBA after last season but didn't get the right feedback from scouts. Another year of seasoning couldn't hurt, they figured, and that made the Tar Heels the team to beat starting in pre-season, when they were the unanimous No. 1 in The Associated Press poll.

The last time the Heels were No. 1 at the beginning and the end was 1982 - when a guy named Michael Jordan wore Carolina Blue.

Yes, there were hiccups along the way this season, such as when the Tar Heels lost their first two ACC games, and when Lawson missed three games with the toe - one of an assortment of injuries they endured.

But none of it was enough to derail this ride from Tobacco Road to Motown. Carolina has won every tournament game by 12 or more. Now, Williams finds himself one win away from leading his alma mater to its fifth national championship.