College Basketball: In final poll, Explorers are 24th
La Salle made the deepest run of any City Six team in the NCAA tournament, and the Explorers were rewarded with a place in the final ESPN/USA Today coaches' poll of the season.
La Salle made the deepest run of any City Six team in the NCAA tournament, and the Explorers were rewarded with a place in the final ESPN/USA Today coaches' poll of the season.
John Giannini's crew is ranked 24th, a spot ahead of Florida Gulf Coast. Atlantic Ten rivals Virginia Commonwealth and St. Louis are also ranked, at No. 23 and No. 16 respectively.
The top four teams were the final four teams: Louisville, Michigan, Syracuse, and Wichita State. Temple was the only other local school to receive votes, and finished the equivalent of 37th.
Gone with the draft
Three players who had key roles in the NCAA tournament announced they were leaving college to enter the NBA draft.
Kansas guard Ben McLemore is leaving after setting a school scoring record with 15.9 points per game as a freshman.
Meanwhile, the father of Louisville Cardinals junior guard Russ Smith Jr. said his son will leave for the NBA.
"I told him, 'Man, this is how you go out,' " Smith Sr. said. "All that hard work comes from working you out since you was 3 years old, running the beach, running the stairs, running with medicine balls, a boxing bag, it paid off." Smith Jr. led Louisville in scoring this season.
And Indiana first-team all-American Victor Oladipo also will skip his senior season. The Hoosier made his decision official at a news conference. An honors student who earned his degree in three years, Oladipo is projected as a lottery pick. He was the team's second-leading scorer this season, averaging 13.6 points per game.