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Michigan's Nik Stauskas said he wasn't sure about his future plans Sunday night after a loss to Kentucky. Glenn Robinson III and Mitch McGary said the same.
(Melanie Maxwell | MLive.com)
INDIANAPOLIS -- It's become an inevitable part of playing high-level college basketball.
If you start making runs, and your players continue to develop, those players will have options outside of the college game.
Michigan's no stranger to this, and won't be again this spring after its season-ending 75-72 loss to Kentucky in the Midwest Regional final on Sunday in Indianapolis.
Michigan sophomores Nik Stauskas, Glenn Robinson III and Mitch McGary all said they weren't sure about what the future holds for them -- and all three said they would discuss their decision about whether or not to return to school for a junior season or declare for the 2014 NBA draft.
Stauskas, the Big Ten Player of the Year, is widely considered as the player with the highest draft stock on Michigan's roster at the moment. ESPN.com's Chad Ford has him at No. 21 on his top 100 list. DraftExpress.com has Stauskas going No. 17 overall in its latest mock draft.
"Right now it's just tough with the way the season ended," Stauskas said. "I guess I'll just talk to my family, talk to my coaches and make my decision soon."
Asked if Michigan's season coming up short of the ultimate goal -- another Final Four -- will have a factor in his decision, Stauskas said it might.
But he's still not sure.
"Maybe a little bit, said Stauskas, who put up 24 points and three assists against Kentucky on Sunday. "It's tough to come that close to a Final Four and get sent home. So I'm not really sure. I don't know where I'm at right now with the decision. In the next couple of days I'll start figuring out what I've got to do.
"I'll just look at the pros and cons of staying or leaving and talk to my parents and hopefully make the best decision for me and my future."
Robinson, meanwhile, sits a bit lower in the eyes of most scouts. After being viewed as a likely first-round lock a year ago, Robinson currently sits at No. 32 on Chad Ford's big board, and DraftExpress.com has him going No. 7 in the second round.
Unlike Stauskas, though, Robinson has been through this process before. And he expects to go about the process the same way.
"I really haven't thought much about it, but coach (John) Beilein does a great job with this," said Robinson, who ended up with 14 points and six rebounds Sunday. "I remember looking back at last year after the national championship game, the next morning he brought me, Trey (Burke), Tim (Hardaway Jr.) and Mitch all into a room with our families and (discussed) the options that we had.
"He gave us things to think about and gave us advice. I know he'll do that again. And with that, and talking with my family, I'll make a decision."
Robinson admitted that he hasn't thought about the NBA nearly as much this season as he did a year ago. A freshman in 2013, Robinson said he thought about possibly leaving quite a bit.
But this year, his focus was more on this team and making a run. He says it's helped him mature, and it'll help him make the best decision for himself and his family.
"This (loss) will drive anybody, and not just me, you look at Caris (LeVert) over there and you know he'll be back in the gym right away working," Robinson said. "And the same with me.
"This will drive me."
McGary -- the 6-foot-10, 260-pounder who along with Robinson passed on the NBA last year in favor of another year in college -- obviously didn't have the year he planned this season. That's due to injury.
McGary is all the way down to No. 48 on Chad Ford's board, and DraftExpress has him at No. 3 in the second round.
December back surgery derailed what was supposed to be an All-American-type year for the big man. And while he says he hasn't really given the NBA much thought, and he'll have to speak with the coaching staff and his family, he says his first priority will be about his health.
He did admit that this season -- both his personal battles and the way it ended short of a Final Four -- could play a role in his choice.
"A couple years ago I came here and wanted to win a national championship, and I still haven't," McGary said. "I really don't know what my plan is right now.
"(The factors I'll go over are) if I'm ready mentally and physically. Physically I have to get back to where I was. (Right now) there's no way I'm even ready to think about playing at the next level with my body. I'm still trying to rehab and get back to playing."