Ohio State center Kosta Koufos is thinking about a key decision in his basketball career. He has two logical choices: Koufos can either stay in college or enter the NBA Draft.

That being said, a return to college seems logical. Heading into the year, Koufos was considered a top-five pick. Koufos averaged 14.4 points, 6.7 rebounds and 1.8 blocks and was named the NIT's Most Outstanding Player. Overall, a solid year for a freshman center, but he was not as good as expected. Another year at Ohio State would help his draft stock.

Or so it would seem. According to DraftExpress' Jonathan Givony, the arrival of fellow seven footer B.J. Mullens could hurt Koufos. Givony said, ''They can't really play together, especially under Thad's system; he values defense so heavily. It's going to be a little bit difficult for (Koufos) playing with B.J. Mullens. B.J.'s a highly touted guy, and you'd think he would be one and done himself.''

Looking at the NBA Draft, Koufos has to like his chances since height always seems to rise on draft day. As a legitimately-skilled seven footer, teams will be interested. But Koufos is hardly ready for the NBA: he isn't much of a defender, rebounder, or physical presence. If he entered the draft, he would likely be drafted in the bottom half of the first round.

Where does all of this leave Koufos? According to his mom, Kathy Koufos, playing basketball in Greece is a possibility. He is a citizen of Greece and played for the Greek national team. When he decided to attend Ohio State, Koufos turned down contract offers to play professionally in Greece, some reports said.

Playing in Greece would benefit Kosta Koufos in several ways.

1. Koufos would make a good chunk of money.
   
2. He would continue his development before entering the NBA.
3. The European playing style better suits his game, allowing Koufos to make a bigger impact on the court.
4. Koufos would receive more playing time than he would if he went to the NBA immediately.
   
5. Connect with his heritage, I guess?

Of course, there are downsides to Greece in comparison to the NBA or college.

1. He can still develop while being paid by an NBA team.
   
2. What if he goes to Greece and his deficiencies are unmasked against the competition?
3. Nothing can improve a player's draft stock more than a good NCAA Tournament run. That possibility would be gone.
4. Koufos would appear to be crazy to chose Greece over the NCAA and the NBA.
   

Most likely, his mom just threw the idea out there and there is little likelihood of Koufos actually leaving for Greece. In which case, this was all for naught.

Last April, Seattle Sonics owners spoke of keeping the franchise in Seattle. They just wanted a new arena, they said. Most NBA fans knew the truth: Clay Bennett and his Oklahoma City group were more eager to find a way out of their lease.

E-mails obtained by Seattle city officials show the owners of the Sonics were privately talking about moving the team to Oklahoma City. In an e-mail exchange from April 17, 2007, Seattle Sonics co-owners Clay Bennett, Aubrey McClendon and Tom Ward joked about moving the team to Oklahoma City as soon as possible.

"Is there any way to move here [Oklahoma City] for next season or are we doomed to have another lame duck season in Seattle?" Ward wrote.

"I am a man possessed! Will do everything we can. Thanks for hanging with me boys, the game is getting started!" Bennett replied.

"That's the spirit!! I am willing to help any way I can to watch ball here [in Oklahoma City] next year," Ward wrote back.

Seattle city attorney Tom Carr said the e-mails make it clear that Bennett's ownership group, which bought the team in 2006, never had any intention of keeping it in Seattle, despite Bennett's public statements committing to keeping the team there. Bennett had committed to working with city and state officials through October 2007 to keep the Sonics in Seattle.

"We all believed [the new group always meant to move]. We didn't know it. Now we know it," Carr said, according to the Times.

Interesting, since for months later--in an e-mail dated Aug. 17-- Bennett told Commissioner David Stern, "I would never breach your trust. As absolutely remarkable as it may seem, Aubrey and I have NEVER discussed moving the Sonics to Oklahoma City, nor have I discussed it with ANY other member of our ownership group."

What does all of this mean? Well, Clay Bennett is a lying, greedy kerl who deserves to have 5 cc's of orange juice injected into his blood stream. The reason being that it throws off the pH of the blood and systematically causes every organ to fail, one after the other, while his insides feel like he's being burnt alive from the inside out. Or so I hear.

When Kelvin Sampson was relieved of his coaching duties at Indiana University, speculation began regarding his replacement. Whoever was to earn the position was going to be a tough coach, that was the one certainty. Around the same time, Scott Skiles was fired (though he went to the organization saying a coaching change was needed), his tough coaching style having been tuned out by NBA players.

Now, it appears Indiana has Skiles on their list of coaching replacements.

Indiana University is expected to contact former Bulls coach Scott Skiles when it launches its coaching search, a source said Tuesday.

"If they're smart enough to hire him, they'll win a national championship in one or two years," said Bulls coach Jim Boylan, a former Skiles assistant who succeeded Skiles after he was fired by the Bulls on Dec. 24.

"He'll relate well to college players, because he needs everybody on the same page to fall into his system," Bulls center Joakim Noah said. "And he could definitely do that on the college level."

Skiles would be a great collegiate coach. He has always tried creating a hard working atmosphere around his team. That nature, which he instilled in his teams, was what allowed the Bulls to go from perennial losers to playoff contenders. Of course, that fell apart this past year. At Indiana, Skiles would have more control over the players. For starters, he will recruit the type of player he wants. Most likely, they will have a similar mindset and accept his philosophy, preventing another quasi-revolt.

An emphasis on defense has always been a signature of Skiles during his coaching career. Under Skiles, the Bulls were among the NBA's best. Being able to choose players willing to buy in defensively will allow him to succeed. The same could be true offensively; Skiles focuses on perimeter play. Similar offenses often succeed collegiately while being thwarted by NBA-level defenses.

Though Skiles would be a great fit at any college, Indiana just seems like a logical choice. Skiles was born in LaPorte, Indiana. He led Plymouth High School to the 1982 state championship. He resides at his home in Bloomington.

Indiana seems like a perfect fit for this native Hoosier.

Listening to Chicago Bulls head coach Jim Boylan suggest to reporters last Monday that things were fine with his team was frustrating from a fan's perspective. "I just know that what I do in the locker room and with this team, I'm in control. I run this team," he reminded us. We knew better.

We knew better before this latest tidbit surfaced in ESPN's Weekend Dime. Marc Stein, investigating the Tyrus Thomas debacle, discovered Thomas wasn't the only Bull upset with the way Boylan was handling the team.

The story, as I hear it from one team insider, is that Thomas had recently witnessed heated confrontations between Bulls coach Jim Boylan and two of Chicago's more veteran players -- Ben Gordonand Kirk Hinrich -- that wound up pitting multiple players against the coaching staff. I'm also told that Thomas figured he was heading for a similarly nasty blowup of his own with Boylan, but that he also concluded that the punishment for an argument with Boylan would be a lot steeper than what Gordon and Hinrich faced, given where he stands in the Bulls' pecking order and the growing stress of a tension-drenched season.

So Thomas -- confused by recent nine-minute stints against Washington and Memphis after being told he'd be getting steady minutes off the bench in the wake of the Bulls trading away Ben Wallace and Joe Smith -- decided that the smartest move was taking a one-day leave to clear his head.

For starters, Stein confirms the widespread speculation that Thomas was upset with the way he was being utilized. I, too, find it disheartening that Boylan benched Thomas after a very good stretch of basketball following the trade. I touched on that topic earlier.

More important to the Bulls is the situation with Hinrich and Gordon. Hinrich is a team captain. Gordon is the team's leading scorer. Both possess the good character and work ethic GM John Paxson spoke of when he began rebuilding the franchise. These are the guys openly question their coach?

With all of the trouble the Chicago Bulls played, albeit at a low level, through, it appears obvious that Boylan is lacking control of the team. If you haven't been keeping track at home, here is a fairly complete list of the Bulls problems this season.

1. During training camp, the Bulls voted to allow Ben Wallace and only Ben Wallace to wear his patented headband. Unfortunately, his signature defense wasn't included.
   
2. Prior to the first game of the season, Gordon and forward Luol Deng declined lucrative contract extensions. As karma would have it, both would take a step back this season.
3. Bulls started the season, but we kept on justifying it. They always start poorly!
   
4. Paxson fired coach Scott Skiles on Christmas Eve when it became apparent things weren't getting better and after the team tuned him out.
5. Subsequently, Boylan was hired.
   
6. Joakim Noah was involved in an altercation with assistant coach Ron Adams. Despite the good relationship between Noah and Adams, Wallace and Adrian Griffin called a team meeting to vote on punishment for Noah's actions. Noah sat two games.
   
7. Fresh off of his suspension, Noah openly challenged the motivation of the veteran Wallace. Personally, I don't see this as a problem; at least someone acknowledged Wallace was playing entitlement minutes.
   
8. Rookie JamesOn Curry was arrested for public urination and resisting arrest while assigned to the Iowa Energy of the NBDL.
9. Bulls acquire Hughes and Drew Gooden. Hughes made noise by saying having fun was more important than winning championships. Still, my favorite post-trade quote comes from Gooden, who said, "I could pass, I could block shots, I could play great defense, I could play help defense, I could shoot 3s. I believe I could do it all." You could start playing like that anytime.
   
10. Hinrich and Gordon confronted Boylan sometime during this period.
    
11. Thomas skipped practice and was suspended for two games.
    
12. Days later, rookie center Aaron Gray criticized Boylan for removing him from the game, saying, "That's what I get for working hard?" I think it became clear that there were problems when Vanilla Thunder started complaining.
13. Duhon skipped practice after going to the Duke-North Carolina game. He then downplayed it by saying, "I haven't been playing a lot anyway." A fine and suspension served as punishment.
    
14. No new photos surfaced of a drunken Duhon performing lap dances.
15. Players were seen laughing during a loss against Detroit.
16. Bulls excused Joakim Noah from practice Wednesday to visit Florida and his former team. Who needs to focus on the season at hand?
17. The Bulls sport a 26-39 record, leaving them in tenth place in the lowly Eastern Conference.
    

Each situation comes down to one thing: winning. If the team made a great turn around under Boylan -- or better yet, started well -- the other problems would not have snowballed. Players would be content with their roles or at least keep their unhappiness to themselves. Duhon and Noah would have focused on their current team instead of looking back on their college days. Hinrich, Gordon, and Thomas would be unable to question Boylan's would-be winning decisions. But alas! The Bulls trail the Atlanta Hawks and Boylan is forced to tell us he has the dysfunctional Chicago locker room under control. We know better.

Chicago Bulls point guard Chris Duhon missed a Sunday morning shootaround. The Bulls are expected to fine Duhon for his actions.

This is the second such incident for Duhon while with Chicago. On January 15, 2007, the Bulls suspended Duhon one game for missing a practice. "I overslept and just got to deal with the consequences," Duhon said in 2007. "The team expects you to be there and you are not there, so you have to man up and take full responsibility of it and make sure it doesn't happen again." Sure enough, he failed in making sure it did not happen again.

Duhon attended the Duke-North Carolina game, played in Durham, North Carolina, with former Blue Devil Jay Williams on Saturday night. He then hopped on a plane and flew back to Detroit for the game. Subsequently, Duhon overslept, missing the team bus for the practice.

This is the second time this week a Bulls player missed a team function. Tyrus Thomas finished serving his two-game suspension on Friday night for missing a practice and is expected to dress for Sunday night's game against the Pistons. According to K.C. Johnson, it is being viewed as unintentional, unlike Thomas' situation.

Duhon, the well known party goer, has seen his playing time decrease dramatically since the acquisition of guard Larry Hughes. Yes, that should be viewed as an accurate indication of Duhon's basketball ability.

NBA players have plenty of down time while traveling from city to city. Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel examined the new heights players have taken their competition to: high stakes poker.

"I've heard guys who have lost $30,000 on an hour plane trip," Charlotte guard Derek Anderson, the former Heat reserve, says. "It's amazing — $30,000 in an hour. You leave Chicago, you have $30,000. You arrive in Detroit, you don't."

While gambling came under intense scrutiny last summer in the wake of the NBA officiating scandal that linked referee Tim Donaghy with bookmakers, the review process eventually eased the restrictions on friendly card games among referees. That essentially sanctioned them throughout the sport.

"It's been part of the culture," says Heat coach Pat Riley, whose time in the league dates to his rookie season with the San Diego Rockets in 1967. "We used to play poker games in the middle of the aisles on commercial airlines, with six guys on aisle seats throwing cards in the middle, with customers walking through the money.

Though the amounts are staggering, they must be put into perspective. An average NBA players earns a salary of $5.4 million. That divides out to $66,000 per game. If they have the money to spare, and the players do, they might as well burn it.

The Chicago Bulls have suspended second-year forward Tyrus Thomas two games for missing practice on Wednesday. John Paxson, general manager of the Bulls, declined to elaborate on the situation, though a representative for Thomas cited "personal reasons." Interim head coach Jim Boylan said the situation was simply disappointing. "The way I handled it, yeah, I regret it," Thomas admitted.

This latest situation does nothing to help the reputation of Tyrus Thomas. During every nationally televised game, the announcers already explain the so-called immaturity Thomas exhibits. Often times, they point out the dunk contest incident. In 2006, he told reporters he was "into the free money" offered for just participating. Those comments led to a fine of $10,000 by the Bulls organization and a media uproar.

Unfortunately, the people who vilified Thomas last season will do the same again. Who cared that Thomas had announced, even before the that controversy, that he would be donating all slam dunk earnings to his former high school? Nobody. Instead, they bashed Thomas, labeling him as another selfish, money-oriented athlete.

Through that all, Thomas fought for a cause he believed in: improving the lives of inner-city youth. He established the Tyrus Thomas Foundation last year "to nurture the development of leadership, scholarship, service and health of at-risk youth through exposure to cultural activities that will broaden their intellectual horizons, academic strategies and educational competency, as well as promote healthy lives through physical activities." The foundation is rooted in five core values : 1. Perseverance; 2. Respect; 3. Integrity; 4. Determination; and 5. Enthusiasm. (P.R.I.D.E.)

Nobody seemed to care.

During the summer, Thomas held a golf tournament in his hometown. Celebrities participated in the event, with all proceeds assisting the Baton Rouge Area Foundation.

Nobody seemed to care.

Just a few weeks ago, the All-Star game was held in New Orleans. Thomas hosted a celebrity bowling event. The money raised will aid victims of Hurricane Katrina and their rebuilding efforts.

Again, nobody seemed to care. The few who noticed thought highly of the man many labeled as immature or a "thug." They defended him, talking about his strong character.

Then, Thomas skips practice. All of the good he has done throughout the year has been negated. Thomas is once again the malcontent the national media portrayed him as. The facts do not matter.

Once again, who cares if Thomas has a right to be upset? After Ben Wallace and Joe Smith were traded, Paxson said Thomas and Joakim Noah would receive increased, steady playing time. In four games, Thomas averaged 14 points, 8.75 rebounds, 3 blocks, and 3.75 assists in a four game stretch, outplaying newly-acquired forward Drew Gooden.

Then, inexcusably, Boylan benched Thomas in favor of Gooden. Boylan's only comment was that "it's time." (For a great analysis of Jim Boylan, visit Kelly Dwyer.) This was the second time Thomas was benched despite playing well. Early in the season, when everyone in the starting lineup except Tyrus sucked, he was benched .For the second time, Thomas played to the company line, saying he was fine with coming off the bench as long as the team won. (For the record, Thomas denied playing time had anything to do with it.)

The last four games, Thomas has played well. Despite this, the minutes he received were inconsistent. One night he would receive twenty-five minutes, the next night he would have nine. After that, the minutes would increase. Those games would be followed by another night with little playing time.

Fortunately, some good as resulted from the situation. Thomas spoke positively of a phone conversation he had with Boylan following the missed practice. "I'd say we broke some barriers," Thomas said. "We talked about a lot of different things, personal, basketball. I need to at least call and talk to somebody and not be so secluded like I normally am."

It is easy to understand Thomas' frustration. More difficult, and nearly impossible, is justifying his actions. Quite simply, he was wrong to miss practice without permission or notice. As a Tyrus Thomas supporter and, to extent, apologist, it is sad to see him erase all of the good he has built up with one stupid, immature action.

Tyrus Thomas had shown he is better than that.