Ohio State’s Jared Sullinger bound for NBA Draft

Ohio State power forward Jared Sullinger has decided to leave school after his sophomore year and enter the NBA Draft.

After helping Ohio State to a Big Ten championship and No. 1 NCAA Tournament seed his freshman season, Sullinger stunned reporters last March by declaring after a Sweet 16 loss to Kentucky that he would spend another year with the Buckeyes.

As an OSU sophomore, Sullinger got to celebrate a comeback victory at Michigan State that allowed the Buckeyes to clinch a share of another Big Ten title, and also a Final Four trip gained through a victory over top seed Syracuse.

Asked at the Final Four whether he was glad to have returned for a second season of college basketball, Sullinger answered: “You look towards this all your life. Me coming back was pretty much (because) I wanted to make a statement, you know, that not everybody is using college basketball as a pit stop to go to the next level—that there's more than money and endorsements. There's championships that you got to win at every level. That's what I pride myself on.”

Ohio State fell short of the NCAA title when it squandered a double-digit first-half lead and lost to Kansas in the national semifinals. Speaking at a press conference on Wednesday, Sullinger said he felt the Buckeyes had a tremendous season.

"Going to the Final Four with a team that many people said we weren't good enough, weren't strong enough, weren't mentally tough enough, and still being able to get to the Final Four with all the ups and downs we had, I think that was tremendous for this basketball team," Sullinger said. "Once we got to the Final Four, we were trying to win it. But unfortunately, we fell short. I feel at peace with the decision I'm making."

Many thought that had Sullinger decided to turn pro last year, he would have been the No. 1 overall selection. He won’t be this year. Kentucky freshman Anthony Davis is a lock to go first. But Sullinger (6-foot-9, 280 pounds) will be a high lottery pick—Draft Express has him as the sixth best NBA prospect.

“I don’t know that he has anything left to prove,” an NBA scout told Sporting News' Sean Deveney. “He’s got such a developed post game. You always get 100 percent from him. He is smart, he is tough, he rebounds, he defends, and he probably would have been the No. 1 or 2 pick if he had come out last year. Whatever he gives up in size, he makes up in toughness and effort.”

Meanwhile, Ohio State sophomore power forward Deshaun Thomas, the team's leading scorer in the NCAAs, has not yet made an announcement about his draft decision. Because OSU remains on the quarter system, players can withdraw from classes as late as Monday without the program triggering APR penalties, according to the Columbus Dispatch. Players had to enroll for spring courses to be eligible for the Final Four.