Stauskas May Enter the NBA, Oregon Loses Top Returning Receiver
Now that college hoops action has ended, players’ early decisions to hit the NBA and coaching changes are dominating headlines.
On Thursday, Michigan sophomore Nik Stauskas was the latest rumored player to make the early move to the league. He is expected to make an announcement soon and on Thursday morning the player took to Twitter to calm the rumor mill down with the following, “Just wanted to reiterate that any reports about my future intentions are FALSE! I have NOT made ANY decisions on my future yet!”
Nik Stauskas
The athletic Stauskas would leave the NCAA with a 17.5 point average, 44 percent shooting for 3-pointers, 82 percent free throw shooting and 3.3 average assists. This follows his freshman year 11-point average and national title loss. For this past season,  Michigan was 28-9 and 15-3 for conference play.
Stauskas has been viewed as a late pick by NBA scouts.
In addition to his possible exit, teammates Mitch McGary and Glenn Robinson III may also make the early NBA jump.
One player for sure who will not be with the team next season is Jon Horford. On Thursday, Michigan announced the player will transfer for his last season of eligibility with them. He’ll take a 3.8 point average per game this past season with him and due to an injured McGary, Horford saw additional playing time.
The 2015 Men’s Basketball Championship is about a year away, but according to Top Bet, here’s some odds for next year’s top teams to win it:
Arizona +600
Duke +700
Kansas +1,200
Kentucky +1,200
Wisconsin +1,200
Florida +1,500
North Carolina +1,500
Wichita St +2,000
Villanova +2,500
Louisville +3,000
SMU +3,000
Virginia +3,000
Iowa St +3,000
Michigan +3,000
Michigan St +3,000
Syracuse +4,000
And now on to college football, which is undergoing spring games and sits about 4 1/2 months away from kickoff.
On Wednesday, Oregon saw its top wide receiver Bralon Addison go down in a non-contact drill with a torn ACL.
Bralon Addison
Last season, Addison had 61 catches, 890 yards and seven touchdowns. With the exit of top receiver Josh Huff and No. 3 Daryle Hawkins, the player had been expected to be quarterback Marcus Mariota’s top target.
Good luck returning now.
With its top four wide receivers representing 72 percent of its receiving yards, Oregon will now look to a young receivers corp. to step up for the season; however, it does have a returning Keanon Lowe. The senior had played in 12 games with three starts averaging less than 19.4 yards per one.
Oregon defeated Texas 30-7 in the Valero Alamo Bowl and ended with a No. 9 ranking in the last Top 25 AP poll.
For the 2014-2015 College Football FBS Championship, Oregon sits at 13/2 to win it with Florida State in the top spot at 4/1.
In another story of a player dealing with an ACL issue, Miami quarterback Ryan Williams, the team’s expected starter, underwent successful surgery on Wednesday. The player tore his right ACL last Friday, also in a non-contact drill.
Williams does not have a timeline for his return but his mother, Jayne Williams, said to the Miami Herald that her son does see playing this season and that “he wants to play at Nebraska” and “finish his football career with his best friends and teammates.”
The Nebraska game is scheduled for September 20.
Ryan Williams
Last season, Williams had a 68.8 percent pass completion (22 of 32) for 369 yards, three touchdowns and one interception. In 2012, he played in five games but for 2011, he sat out after transferring from Memphis (10 starts).
The next man up nod could include a battle between redshirt freshman Kevin Olsen, who has played this spring with the second team and third-string Gray Crow, a sophomore. This summer Miami will add true freshmen Brad Kaaya and Malik Rosier.
Looking ahead to the postseason, Miami has 75/1 odds to win the FBS Championship game.
