n-three disadvantage but were unable to escape the back en

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Kansas freshman Joel Embiid is entering the NBA draft after a breakthrough season that ended with a stress fracture in his back that kept the 7-footer out of the NCAA tournament. Embiid had been mulling whether to return for his sophomore season for weeks. He said during a news conference Wednesday at Allen Fieldhouse that he reached his decision Sunday. "I just want to thank the coaching staff, my teammates, the fans, my mentor, everybody that has helped me through my journey," said Embiid, who was accompanied by coach Bill Self. Embiid, who some believe could go first overall, said he discussed his decision with Self, his family and the Timberwolves Luc Mbah a Moute, a fellow Cameroonian who discovered Embiid at one of his camps and helped bring him to the U.S. when he was in high school. "Hakeem Olajuwon called me and I talked to him a little bit. I talked to Luc, my mentor. I talked to Nicolas Batum from the Portland Trail Blazers," Embiid said. "They didnt tell me what to do, they just gave me the advantages and disadvantages." Embiid, who grew up playing soccer and volleyball, only decided to pursue basketball a few years ago. He started to blossom as a senior at The Rock School and ultimately chose to attend Kansas, where he arrived with less fanfare than fellow freshmen Andrew Wiggins and Wayne Selden. In many ways, Embiid out-performed both of them, averaging 11.2 points and 8.1 rebounds while blocking 72 shots and earning Big 12 defensive player of the year honours. "I dont think anybody could say Jo was making a poor decision by entering the draft," Self said. "Under almost all circumstances this would be the obvious choice to make. The thing with Jo, what he was weighing was hes still so young in the sport." Still young, period. And that youthful exuberance endeared him to Kansas fans. "I really love this place. The fans are crazy, just watching them before every game," he said. "For me, it means a lot that they showed me nothing but love. Ill miss this place." Embiid hurt his back while landing awkwardly during a game late in the season, and missed the Jayhawks final two regular-season games and the Big 12 tournament. He also missed a victory over Eastern Kentucky and a season-ending loss to Stanford in the NCAA tournament, after which he said that he would have been able to play had Kansas advanced to the second weekend. "My back is fine," Embiid said Wednesday. "Im close to being 100 per cent." Even though he is still raw, many projects have Embiid joining Wiggins in going among the first three picks in the June draft. Embiids natural athleticism, court savvy and an ability to hit mid-range jumpers have made scouts salivate all season. "I think its going to be hard. I think Jos in for a fight. But I think its going to be a fun fight," Self said. "The jump from college to the NBA is not quite as easy as what a lot of people portray it to be. Just because youre drafted high doesnt mean youre necessarily ready to play. Jos goal obviously is not only to be drafted high but be a big-time player." Self has already signed two five-star prospects for next season in Kelly Oubre, a talented swingman who should help fill Wiggins shoes, and Cliff Alexander, a 6-foot-8 forward from Chicago and the Naismith high school player of the year. The question now is whether another five-star prospect, Myles Turner, will join them in Lawrence. The 6-11 centre from Euless, Texas, is expected to pick among Kansas, Duke and several other schools, but has said he was waiting on Embiids decision before choosing his school. Alexander tweeted at Turner to sign with Kansas shortly after Embiids announcement. Either way, the newcomers will join a team that returns three starters who helped Kansas win its 10th straight Big 12 title and earned a No. 2 seed in the NCAA tournament. "Andrew was easy, because we knew before Andrew got here what the situation more than likely was going to be. Jo, it wasnt quite that," Self said. "What makes it tough is preparing when you dont know that youre going to lose. Weve got good enough players in our program, weve said that all along. Our expectation, our goals wont vary at all." Wholesale Air Force 1 From China . You can watch the game live on TSN2 and TSN Mobile TV at 9pm et/6pm pt. Jonathan Huberdeau and Quinton Howden are expected to make their debuts for Team Canada. Air Force 1 Clearance . -- Rory McIlroy birdied his last two holes Thursday for a 7-under 63 to take the lead after one round of the Honda Classic. http://www.airforce1clearance.com/. Henderson (20-3) received winning scores of 48-47 and 49-46, and the other judge scored it 48-47 for Thomson (20-6). The announcement drew boos from the United Center crowd. "Train this hard for this long, its such a long camp and I see my title shot disappear," said Thomson, who fought most of the fight with a broken right hand. Air Force 1 Clearance Sale .com) - The Chicago White Sox have officially announced that the club has agreed to terms with utilityman Emilio Bonifacio on a one-year, $4 million contract that includes a team option for the 2016 season. Cheap Air Force 1 China . Now Arizonas new manager is hoping Yasmany Tomas can have the same effect on the Diamondbacks. OTTAWA -- There has been very little room for error for the Ottawa Senators over the past couple of weeks, but now, there is none. Josh Bailey had a goal and an assist as the New York Islanders earned a 2-1 win over Ottawa Wednesday, leaving the Senators five points out of a playoff spot with just five games to play and four teams ahead of them. "We knew they were a desperate team and we knew it was going to be a tough game." Bailey said. "They came at us pretty hard." Bailey scored a power-play goal in the first period, and assisted on the winning goal from Casey Cizikas midway through the third, when he outwaited Senators goaltender Craig Anderson and slid the puck into the crease from behind the goal-line for Cizikas. The win was the third straight and fifth in six games for the Islanders (31-35-10), who were helped by a 35-save performance from rookie Anders Nilsson. Ryan Strome chipped in with two assists. Milan Michalek scored the lone goal for the Senators (32-30-14), on the power play 6:41 into the third period to tie the game 1-1. That goal game exactly 110 minutes after the last Senators goal, with the exception of a shoot-out goal in Mondays 2-1 win over the Carolina Hurricanes. Michalek was at the side of the Islanders goal when he jammed a loose puck past Nilsson with four bodies lying in the crease. "I thought I had a glove on it but its tough. It was so fast and it was tough for me to know and tough for the ref to see," Nilsson said of the goal. "Those goals happen. They did a good job crashing the net and the puck came loose so credit to them. "We battled hard and everyone stuck up for each other. Everybody is doing a hell of a job and battling hard and thats why we keep on winning." The loss snapped a three game winning streak for the Senators. They had also recorded points in five straight games going into Wednesday. "We didnt score goals and youre not going to win hockey games when you dont score goals," Senators defenceman Marc Methot said. "Its deflating, for sure. Itts funny because I thought we played pretty good hockey.dddddddddddd We just couldnt bury it when we had opportunities and it sucks in terms of the atmosphere in the room. We were riding a pretty nice high despite our situation in the standings. "When youre stringing together wins at any point in the season it feels good so were going to keep rolling and keep trying to get wins." Bailey had the only goal through 40 minutes of play, beating Anderson with a snap shot from the face-off circle 17 minutes into the first period. "We played a really solid game five-on-five and the difference was special teams," said Anderson, who finished with 25 saves. "Thats the way this game is and some nights, youre going to generate lots of opportunities on the power play and some nights youre not. That was the difference-maker tonight." The Senators had managed to kill off a 34 second five-on-three disadvantage but were unable to escape the back end of the two penalties unscathed. It wasnt the only opportunity on special teams for the Islanders, either. Cal Clutterbuck was unable to cash in on three short-handed opportunities. Clutterbuck was stopped by Anderson on a short-handed breakaway early in the first period, and later in the period, with an open net to shoot at, he slid the puck through the crease and along the goal-line. Clutterbuck had another short-handed breakaway, this time in the dying seconds of the third period, but his shot sailed over the Ottawa net. Notes: Defenceman Jared Cowen and forwards Bobby Ryan, Jason Spezza and Colin Greening are all injured and did not play Wednesday for the Senators. Defencemen Radek Martinek, Lubomir Vishnovsky and Brian Strait and forwards Kyle Okposo, Eric Boulton and Michael Grabner did not play for the Islanders a The Senators have not won five straight this season a The Senators close out a five-game homestand Friday when the host the Montreal Canadiens a The Islanders are 13-4-2 in their past 20 road games a Wednesday was the 400th game of Baileys career. ' ' '