Originally published Thursday, April 24, 2008 at 12:00 AM
College basketball | Mario Chalmers takes shot with NBA
For the past two weeks, Mario Chalmers has been too busy thinking about the future to spend much time reliving the past. Sure, he has seen...
LAWRENCE, Kan. — For the past two weeks, Mario Chalmers has been too busy thinking about the future to spend much time reliving the past.
Sure, he has seen the cover of Sports Illustrated more times than he can count. That's been pretty cool. And he has posed for more photographs with fans than usual, too. No surprise there. But Chalmers hasn't watched the replay of the NCAA championship game yet. He hasn't reveled in the glory of what is already being called the biggest shot in Kansas history, the one that flew off his fingertips with three seconds left and the Jayhawks trailing by three.
"I'm still waiting for the right time," Chalmers said.
Chalmers won't have much time now. He announced on Wednesday afternoon that he will declare for the 2008 NBA draft, joining teammates Brandon Rush and Darrell Arthur in the draft pool. Chalmers, like Arthur, will not hire an agent, giving him the option of returning to Kansas.
Chalmers said that he will stay in the draft if he feels confident that he will be a first-round pick. As of now, he says, he is being projected between Nos. 25 and 35, which puts him firmly on the first-round bubble.
"I'm really looking forward to seeing if I can work myself higher," Chalmers said. "But if I hear anything that's not in the first round, I'm just going to come back."
Notes
• D.J. Augustin is declaring for the NBA draft, and Texas teammate A.J. Abrams is headed with him.
The Longhorns lost their All-American point guard when Augustin announced he would skip his final two seasons at Texas and enter the draft, where he is widely considered a first-round pick.
Abrams, a junior, also declared himself eligible for the draft. The 5-foot-11 guard has also not hired an agent.
• The Memphis Tigers' entire starting lineup last season is eligible for the NBA draft now that juniors Antonio Anderson and Robert Dozier have become the last from the 2008 NCAA runner-up to declare.
• Connecticut women's coach Geno Auriemma said the regular-season series against rival Tennessee was canceled because Vols coach Pat Summitt accused the Huskies of a recruiting violation.
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Auriemma, speaking to reporters on campus Tuesday, said Summitt "doesn't have the courage to say it publicly."
• Xavier coach Sean Miller has agreed to a 10-year contract extension.
• Arizona assistant coach Kevin O'Neill has been reassigned to duties within the athletic department. O'Neill, 51, was hired last spring, and took over as interim coach when coach Lute Olson took a personal leave of absence last season. After Olson returned in March, he announced O'Neill would no longer be a part of his staff.
• Derek Kellogg, who played on four Atlantic 10 championship teams at Massachusetts in the 1990s, was formally introduced as his alma mater's head coach.
Copyright © 2008 The Seattle Times Company
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