|
LAWRENCE, Kan. Mark Teixeira Yankees Jersey . -- Kansas freshman Andrew Wiggins made official Monday what hes been telling folks all along: Hes headed to the NBA after his only season with the Jayhawks. The 6-foot-8 forward, who was voted second-team All-America earlier in the day, is expected to go in the top three picks in the June draft. Many believe he could go first overall. "It wasnt an easy decision because the fans showed me so much love here," said Wiggins, choking up briefly during a news conference at Allen Fieldhouse. "I just wish I had more time. College goes by so fast. I can see why people stay all four years." The Canadian was the top-rated recruit when he arrived at Kansas, and his brief career was a bit of a roller coaster. He struggled early in the season, caught fire midway through, and then flamed out when it mattered most in an NCAA tournament loss to Stanford. Wiggins, from Vaughan, Ont., only scored four points on 1-for-6 shooting in the third-round defeat. Afterward, he said despondently that he let his team down with his poor performance. That ultimately didnt have any bearing on his decision, though. He announced he was going pro while joined by Kansas coach Bill Self, his parents -- former NBA player Mitchell Wiggins and Olympic silver medallist Marita Payne Wiggins -- his older brother Mitchell Jr., and several of his teammates, including fellow freshmen Wayne Selden and Joel Embiid. Selden has already announced hes returning for his sophomore season. Embiid has not made a decision, even though hes also expected to be a top-five pick in the draft. Wiggins certainly had a historic season at Kansas. He averaged a freshman-record 17.1 points and nearly six rebounds per game, and was voted the APs Big 12 freshman of the year and first-team all-conference. "Obviously this announcement needed to happen," said Self, who believes one of the biggest challenges Wiggins will face is realizing that basketball will suddenly become his job. "Its not like this year. He came in with so much hype, and whether he knew it or not, everybody was salivating for a chance to go against a guy with that much hype," Self said. "And hes going to the next level with a lot of hype, but men are going to be saying, Whoa, whoa, whoa, rook. Ive been doing this a long time and youre going to have to earn your way." Wiggins simply flashed a smile when asked if he was ready for it. "Just listening to him now," his father said, "Im thinking about when he was that little bitty kid that was dirty, and not listening, and now? Hes a young man that I think gets it. I think hes going to do very well." Hes also made it through his freshman season healthy. Unlike Embiid, Wiggins never had to deal with any nagging injuries, and his mother said that factored into his decision. "The best thing is hes not injured. Hes able to go ahead and complete part of his goals," she said. "Every day is a new day. He has no injuries and hes ready to go." Self said Embiid is still wrestling with his stay-or-go decision. The 7-footer from Cameroon was waylaid late in the season by a stress fracture in his back, and that could factor into Embiids draft status, along with the fact that hes only been playing basketball for a few years. Embiid slipped out of the room immediately after Wiggins had finished speaking Monday, but Self told a few reporters that he had not made his decision, despite a report last week that said Embiid would enter the draft. "That doesnt mean he couldnt still do that, but that was gun-jumping," Self said. "It certainly upset him, because somebody that was a source obviously didnt have good information." Self doesnt expect Embiid to make his intentions known anytime soon. "The decision he needs to make is whats best for him," Self said, "whether to stay another year or to go, and I could see him do either one of them. And I think you could make a case that either one would be a good decision. Hes not quite like Andrew whos been playing the game his whole life. Hes only been playing three years. Hes still trying to figure it out." C.C. Sabathia Jersey . - Former NFL safety Darren Sharper pleaded not guilty Thursday to charges that he drugged and raped two women he met at a West Hollywood night club, while the emergence of a new accuser in Florida left him under investigation in five states. Alfonso Soriano Jersey . Hoefl-Rieschs exit — from the downhill course into safety nets, then airlifted from the slope by helicopter — left Anna Fenninger of Austria favourite to win her first giant crystal trophy one month after becoming an Olympic champion.INDIAN WELLS, Calif. -- Defending champions Rafael Nadal and Maria Sharapova were upset in the third round of the BNP Paribas Open on Monday. First, Sharapova went down to qualifier Camila Giorgi, 6-3, 4-6, 7-5, giving the young Italian her first victory over a top-five player. Then, Nadal followed on the main stadium court, losing 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 (5) to Alexandr Dolgopolov of Ukraine. Nadal staged a furious rally in the third. He won three straight games, including a break of Dolgopolov, to tie it at 5. Both players held serve to send the match into the tiebreaker. They slugged it out from the baseline accompanied by a noisy soundtrack, with fans yelling and cheering. Los Angeles Lakers star Pau Gasol watched nervously from Nadals box. Nadal led 4-2 before Dolgopolov won three straight points to take a 5-4 lead. The Ukrainian hit two forehand winners and came up with a big service winner. "I had enough breaks to win the match, but I didnt play enough well from the baseline then to be solid with my serve," Nadal said. "I didnt go for the points. I played with too many mistakes." Nadal evened it at 5-all, but he hit the ball long to set up match point. Dolgopolov served what he thought was an ace, but it was called out. He challenged the call and it showed the ball barely missed tagging the T. Dolgopolov put his second serve into play and produced a cross-court forehand that the worlds top-ranked player couldnt return. "Its a moment for the people to be proud a little bit for someone from their country," Dolgopolov said, referring to the political upheaval going on between Ukraine and Russia. "Its good to make some results and make the people forget a little bit and have some happy moments in the news." Dolgopolov had more errors (49) than winners (36). Last month, Nadal defeated Dolgopolov to win the Rio de Janeiro title. The Ukrainian has risen quickly in the ATP Tour rankings, going from No. 57 to 31st after a strong February, posting three wins against top-20 players in Rio and made the semifinals in Acapulco. Before Nadal was sent packing, Sharapova committed 58 errors in her first loss to a player ranked outside the top 30 since Wimbledon last year. Joe Girardi Jersey. "Shes someone that doesnt give you much rhythm," Sharapova said. "Shes quite aggressive, but some shots she hits incredible for a long period of time. Sometimes they go off a bit. If Im speaking about my level, it was nowhere near where it should have been." Ranked 79th in the world, Giorgi made it through qualifying to play Indian Wells for the first time. She improved to 3-2 against top-10 opponents. The 22-year-old led 4-2 in the final set, but Sharapova broke Giorgi twice to tie it at 5. "I was trying to just play my game, and maybe I accelerate more than the other set," Giorgi said. "I just play more aggressive." Giorgi then broke Sharapova at love before serving out the match, overcoming her 11th double fault to set up match point. Giorgi had 48 unforced errors and 24 winners. Awaiting Giorgi in the fourth round will be fellow Italian Flavia Pennetta, who beat No. 16 seed Sam Stosur 6-4, 3-6, 6-1. American Sloane Stephens was to play Ana Ivanovic, and Tommy Haas took on Kei Nishikori of Japan in night matches. Tied 4-all in the third, Sharapova was broken when her forehand was called long and Sharapova raised her arms. The chair umpire took the gesture to mean Sharapova was challenging the call, and the call showed the ball was out. Sharapova argued she was only throwing her arms up as if to ask, "Who made the call?" But the umpire disagreed, and Sharapova retreated to her sideline chair trailing 5-4. Australian Open champion Stan Wawrinka routed 29th-seeded Andreas Seppi of Italy 6-0, 6-2. Andy Murray outlasted Jiri Vesely of the Czech Republic 6-7 (2), 6-4, 6-4 in his second straight three-set match, and four-time tourney champion Roger Federer defeated 27th-seeded Dmitry Tursunov of Russia 7-6 (7), 7-6 (2) with an ace on match point. Murray had 47 of the 99 unforced errors during the nearly three-hour match in the 80-plus-degree heat of the Southern California desert. The third set featured six service breaks, with Murray taking the last two. Top-seeded Li Na defeated Karolina Pliskova of the Czech Republic 6-3, 6-4, while American Sloane Stephens beat 11th-seeded Ana Ivanovic 7-6 (3), 6-4. cheap jerseys cheap jerseys from china ' ' ' |
