Huh... well, so much for my precentages...

Okay, so I figured Julian Wright was a stronger possibility to return to KU than Brandon Rush. Then someone told him, "Hey, you can make a couple million dollars next year." That's kind of a hard thing to pass up. I wish someone would have offered me a few million to leave college early.

That being said, it'll be tough to see him go. I don't think anyone really realized what was coming to Lawrence two years ago. It was such a whirl-wind recruitment, with Wright never stepping foot on campus until classes started, that I think it caught many fans off guard and didn't know what the expect out of Wright. Now, I think, fans are sad to see him go, but are quite thankful for all that he brought to the floor for Kansas.

Despite my thinking that Wright would be back in Lawrence next year, I'm not shocked that he decided to go pro. That I said, I think he is making a calculated risk given the other underclassmen coming out, including Durant, Oden (likely), B. Wright (possible), the entire Florida starting line-up, Afflalo, oh, and that 7-footer out of China. Now, obviously, Julian could suffer a devastating injury next year in college, but if he waited until next year, I think most people are of the opinion he would improve his standing by at least two spots since there are no players like Oden and Durant (despite Frank Martin's opinion of Michael Beasley) slated for the 2008 NBA Draft.

According to this story, Julian is looking to hire an agent before the draft in June, so I guess the possibility exists, slim as it is, that he could bomb out in Chicago and in one-on-one workouts, and return to KU. However, I'm pretty sure Bill Self is going to go forward with the idea that Julian will be playing for a pay-check next season. According to the LJWorld, Self is looking at a guard at... wait for it... the College of Southern Idaho. Brad Garrett, a 6-5 guard, who is probably more a fill-in for Rush leaving than Wright since KU already has a forward in the fold. He's #22 in the CSI Basketball media guide.

The other two draft question marks for KU in Mario Chalmers nd Darrell Arthur both committed to returning to KU last night at the annual team banquet. Plus, Sherron Collins who, as the newspaper article put it "had been the victim of ill-informed Internet message board posters who insisted he was transferring to DePaul in his hometown of Chicago," (How great is that line? Has there ever been a "well-informed Internet message board rumor"?) will also be returning to KU in the fall.

In conclusion, it'll be sad to see Wright go, but I think this will be an on-going trend with Bill Self as KU's head coach. He'll continue to load up on NBA caliber talent and that means there will be high turnover from year-to-year. I think I can handle that.