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 NBA Draft WiretapChildress to enter NBA Draft but may return to StanfordStanford All-America forward Josh Childress will apply for the NBA draft but will retain the option to return for his senior season, according to multiple sources. Under NCAA rules, players are allowed to work out for NBA teams and gauge their draft value. As long as they don't hire an agent, they have until June 17 - a week before the draft - to withdraw. He joined his teammates in Mexico last week for spring break, then met with Coach Mike Montgomery on Tuesday morning. When asked for an update, Montgomery said: "You'll have to ask Josh." Read the Full Story Discuss Send Feedback Josh Smith loses freshman eligibilityIndiana University's top-rated incoming basketball recruiting class has carried an asterisk because of speculation Josh Smith might enter June's NBA draft. And while Smith still hasn't said he is NBA-bound, his actions Monday night spoke loudly. By participating in the dunk contest at the McDonald's All-American game in Oklahoma City Smith officially lost his freshman year of college eligibility. According to NCAA rules, "a student-athlete shall be denied the first year of intercollegiate athletics competition, if following completion of high school eligibility, and prior to the student-athlete's high school graduation, he participates in more than two all-star basketball contests." Participation in this case, according to the NCAA, includes the slam-dunk contest. Smith also competed in all-star events in Chicago and Knoxville, Tenn. "This was his decision to make," IU coach Mike Davis said. "It's disappointing, but we had guys that we had lined up just in case. We had a backup plan. We're not in the situation where we were a couple of years ago where we were kind of out there stuck. "But this is his decision and I support the boy." Read the Full Story Discuss Send Feedback Self succeeds in difficult task of following WilliamsST. LOUIS (AP) Replacing a coach who is on track to be a Hall of Famer is never easy. Now try doing it after losing a couple of first-round NBA draft picks. That was Kansas coach Bill Self's task this season. Replacing Roy Williams wasn't easy, and Kansas certainly had its share of struggles this year. But the Jayhawks seem to be doing just fine these days, back in the regional semifinals of the NCAA tournament for the fourth straight season. Fourth-seeded Kansas plays ninth-seeded Alabama-Birmingham on Friday night. ``We had such success the past couple of years under coach Williams and for coach Self to come in and have a totally different mind-set and the way things are supposed to work, it was hard for some of us to buy into it,'' guard Aaron Miles said Thursday. ``I think that was the hardest thing for him, to be able to win us over and believe in his system and everything. ``It's been ups and downs throughout the whole season, but I think right now we're all adjusted and are believing in him.'' Self bristles at the suggestion this has been an up-and-down year. Yes, the Jayhawks got blown out in road losses to Oklahoma State, Nebraska and Texas. They also were routed at Nevada and lost to Richmond at home. But the Jayhawks are 23-8 and seem to be peaking at the right time with victories in eight of their last 10 games. ``There's been a lot more ups than downs,'' Self said. ``Bottom line is it reaches a point where coaches have to get the guys to do exactly what they want them to do and the players have to go do it. And regardless if you've been in a place for 20 years, there's a time in February where every coach struggles doing that. ``What Kansas went through this year is exactly what 99 percent of college basketball goes through every year,'' he added. ``They just haven't experienced much in the last two.'' ___ ACHING DUHON:@ Chris Duhon is playing in pain, but don't look for the Duke guard to miss time in the NCAA tournament. The leader of the Blue Devils played 32 minutes in a second-round victory over Seton Hall _ just a week after bruising his ribs while diving for a loose ball in the Atlantic Coast Conference championship. ``Chris is hurt, but he will not let anyone else know he is hurt because he is the leader of our basketball team and wants to play no matter what,'' sophomore guard Sean Dockery said. ``He is a great leader.'' Duhon took it easy in practice Thursday but intends to play Friday night against Illinois is the Atlanta Regional semifinals. ``Being a senior, I want to lead this team to a championship because they are a great group of guys who have worked very hard and they deserve it,'' he said. Coach Mike Krzyzewski said Duhon is hurting a lot more than he's letting on. ``Chris is better, but he's not nearly 100 percent,'' the coach said. ``This injury will linger, whether he plays one game or two, three or four. It will probably be another month and a half.'' ___ COMING TO AMERICA:@ Xavier guard Romain Sato came to the United States in 1999, from his home in the Central African Republic. He was placed in a high school in Dayton, Ohio, through an organization called Friends of Africa. Now, more than five years later, he's starting to feel comfortable with the American lifestyle. ``It was tough for me the first year and the second year, but each things got easier for me,'' he said. ``My teammates helped me a lot, especially with coach, whatever he tells me, if I don't understand, they would take me and go into the office and show me. ``Now everything is easier for me.'' Sato and the Musketeers play Texas in the Atlanta Regional semifinals on Friday night. Sato has legal guardians in Dayton, Tom and Tiffany Thompson, who also have helped. ``I think I'm getting to be very American now,'' he said. ``I have been with them for five years, so they help me. I will never forget where I come from. I would say it's different.'' ___ HOYA FAMILY?@ Former Georgetown coach John Thompson was noncommittal Thursday when asked if he had discussed the Hoyas' vacant coaching position with his son John Thompson III, the coach at Princeton. The elder Thompson, who worked as a radio announcer for Thursday night's games in the East Rutherford Regional, declined to say whether he and his son had talked about the job. ``I've resigned,'' he said jokingly. ``I'm like Chief Joseph _ I will fight no more forever.'' The younger Thompson has led the Tigers to a 68-42 record in four years, including Ivy League titles and NCAA Tournament berths in 2000-2001 and 2003-2004. Princeton finished 20-8 this season, losing to Texas in the first round of the tournament. Georgetown coach Craig Esherick was fired March 16 after five years in which the Hoyas were 103-74 but reached the NCAA Tournament just once, in 2001. Read the Full Story Discuss Send Feedback Mar 2004 Archive
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