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LAWRENCE, Kan. Donnie Avery . -- 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." Brandon Flowers . Even when his team is so banged-up that it had two guys in protective facemasks on the court at the same time -- and one of them broke his nose again, anyway. Ryan Succop . 5 Trade Deadline is drawing closer and teams will be deciding on whether to buy or sell while figuring out which players can make the biggest difference and hold the greatest value.MOBILE, Ala. -- Catriona Matthew remained atop the Airbus LPGA Classic leaderboard Friday, birdieing four of the last seven holes to take a one-stroke advantage over Charley Hull into the weekend. The 44-year-old Matthew had a 5-under 67 to reach 13-under 131 on the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trails Crossings Course. The 18-year-old Hull also shot 67. Matthew had six birdies and a bogey -- on the par-4 ninth -- in her afternoon round. "I played actually probably pretty well today," said Matthew, who opened with a 64 on Thursday. "I hit 17 greens, so I gave myself a lot of chances. I didnt hole many on the front nine, but then the putter got going a little bit on the back nine." The Scot won the last of her four LPGA Tour titles in 2011. "Obviously, theres still 36 holes to go," Matthew said. "If its anything like the first two days, were going to have to keep making birdies." Hull also dropped a stroke on No. 9, her final hole of the day. The English player birdied Nos. 6-8 and had five birdies in a seven-hole stretch before closing with her lone bogey of the week. "Hitting it pretty straight," Hull said. "Hit my irons good and holing some good putts. Missing a few putts, but youre always going to miss a few putts when youre playing well. But Im just excited about this golf course. I quite like it." Hull won a Ladies European Tour event in Morocco in March a week before her 18th birthday. She closed with a 9-under 62 and won on the first hole of a playoff. The teen is comfortable in the warm conditions in Mobile. "The weathers been pretty hot, but I quite like it," Hull said. Tamba Hali. "I think its a great place and its very green and a bit different than I expected. The trees are a lot different, but I enjoy it a lot." Anna Nordqvist, Jessica Korda and Hee Young Park were 10 under. Nordqvist, the winner in Thailand and Carlsbad, had a 66. Korda, the Bahamas champion, shot 67, and Park had a 66. "I got the ball close and was able to kind of make a couple putts on my front nine, which was the back nine," Korda said "Hopefully, I can keep that momentum going." Park, playing alongside Matthew, eagled the par-5 16th for the second straight day. Kraft Nabisco winner Lexi Thompson and Jenny Shin were 9 under. Thompson had a 65, and Shin shot 68. Second-ranked Stacy Lewis, No. 4 Suzann Pettersen and three-time Mobile winner Se Ri Park topped the group at 8 under. Lewis, the 2012 champion who won the North Texas LPGA Shootout three weeks ago, matched Pettersen with a 70. Pak, the 2010 winner who also won the Tournament of Champions at the course in 2001 and 2002, had a 69. Michelle Wie, the winner in Hawaii, was 7 under. She followed her opening 71 with a 66. Top-ranked Inbee Park missed the cut with rounds of 74 and 76, ending her cuts streak at 22. She had 34 putts in the second round and played her final nine in 4-over 40. The South Korean star is winless in nine tour starts this season after sweeping the first three majors last year and finishing the season with six victories. She last missed a cut last May in the Bahamas. ' ' ' |
