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KANSAS CITY, Mo. Ladarius Green Chargers Jersey . -- 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." King Dunlap Chargers Jersey . The Basque club improved to four points better than fifth-place Villarreal in the duel for the last Champions League qualifying place. Celta should have come away with more from the high tempo game. Kellen Winslow Womens Jersey . The Winnipeg Jets head coach, whose parents are French-Canadian, lost much of his mother tongue the result of playing and coaching hockey in the U.S. but still speaks enough to get by. NEWARK, N.J. -- Brian Elliott was perfect in long relief as the St. Louis Blues pulled out another victory against an Eastern Conference team. T.J. Oshie scored the only goal in the shootout and Brian Elliott stopped every shot he faced as the St. Louis Blues beat New Jersey 4-3 on Thursday night to end the Devils five-game winning streak. Oshie, the first shooter for the Blues, fooled Devils goalie Johan Hedberg with an off-speed shot that trickled through his pads. Elliott, who came on to replace Jaroslav Halak in the second period, stopped Ilya Kovalchuk, Patrik Elias and Zach Parise. Elliott also stopped all 15 shots in regulation and overtime. "You have to be prepared all the time," Elliott said. "We kind of struggled to start the game and didnt give Jaro much help. The change was as much to shake things up and get us going a little bit." The move by Blues coach Ken Hitchcock certainly paid off as Elliott responded to the challenge. "Its a little bit tough but it also makes it easier in that you are not thinking about the game all day," Elliott said. "You just go in, play your game and whatever happens, happens." Chris Stewart, David Perron and Patrik Berglund scored for the Blues, who improved to 11-0-2 against the Eastern Conference. Parise, Adam Henrique and Elias scored for the Devils, who suffered a rare loss in a shootout where they are 9-3. The Blues are only 2-6 in shootouts. "Its a tough one to lose but they are a really good team in the Western Conference," Parise said. "I thought we did pretty well against them." Hedberg made 23 saves, getting the start as Martin Brodeur was scratched after twisting his right ankle on Tuesday in a 1-0 shutout of the Rangers in New York. The Devils called up Jeff Frazee from the minors to be the backup. Parise and Stewart scored as the teams deadlocked at 1-1 after one period with both goals coming in the final minutes. Blues defenceman Barret Jackman was whistled for delay of game for flipping the puck into the stands from his own end. The Devils cashed in the power play as Parise took a cross-ice feed from Kovalchuk and fired a shot from below the right circle that deflected off Halaks glove and popped behind him at 16:46. The goal, his 21st, extended Parises point-scoring streak to seven games. The Blues answered with 1:17 remaining as Stewart used his long reach to swat a shot past Hedberg before Devils defencemen Kurtis Foster and Matt Taormina could clear. Perron scorred 4:50 into the second as the Blues took a 2-1. Branden Oliver Blue Jersey. . With a delayed penalty about to be called on New Jersey, Perron ripped a shot past Hedberg for his third goal in two games. The Devils got the next two for a 3-2 lead. Henrique beat Halak from the left circle only 45 seconds later to pull the Devils even. Elias put New Jersey back in front, working a give-and-go with Kovalchuk deep in the Blues end. Elias deposited the return feed at 9:12, also extending his point-scoring streak to seven. That was the last shot Halak faced as Brian Elliott came on in relief. St. Louis wasted a golden opportunity when Foster got a five-minute major penalty and a game misconduct for boarding Chris Porter only 1:15 into the third period The Devils penalty killers had as many good scoring chances as the Blues power play. Henrique had the most dangerous bid, a short-handed breakaway that Elliott dove to stop. Perron picked up tripping minor at 5:10, wiping out the remainder of the power play. The Blues did get the equalizer at 14:10 as Berglund chopped a high, floating point shot from Roman Polak past Hedberg, a goal confirmed by a video review. That set the stage for Oshie to decide the contest in the shootout. "It was a real character win by the boys tonight," Oshie said. "After the first two periods, we were lucky to be down by only a goal. To come out, having a big third period and battle all the way through to the shootout was big for us." The loss was a disappointment for the Devils, who seemingly had it under control until Berglunds goal. "We played a solid game, did a lot of good things," Devils coach Peter DeBoer said. "I thought we had a number of good chances to put the game away but we just didnt capitalize. They made some saves down the stretch and we let them hang around." NOTES: C Travis Zajac, working on a second comeback from an Achilles tendon injury, should resume skating in about a week and could be back in the Devils lineup in a month. Zajac, sidelined most of the season, was first injured during off-ice training in August and underwent surgery. He returned on Dec. 16 and played eight games before soreness in the area of the Achilles tendon flared up. He was shut down after the Devils game on Jan. 2. ... Devils C Ryan Carter missed a fourth straight game with a non-displaced hand fracture. ... The game marked Jamie Langenbrunners first game in New Jersey since the trade that sent him to Dallas last season. The former Devils captain signed with the Blues over the summer. cheap nfl jerseys cheap jerseys ' ' '