Ohio State is saying goodbye to its leading score and best player.

I will be declaring for the NBA draft and I plan on hiring an agent but I have not chosen one at this time.

Long and lean, soft spoken and humble,

with a jump shot like a waterfall,

the Big Ten Player of the Year declared for the NBA draft this week.

Farewell Clyde Bates.

That could have been the name of the 6 foot 7 235 pound forward

who scored 20 points a game this season, dropping 28 on Gonzaga in his final college

appearance, 35 on Illinois earlier in the year, and 32 on Michigan State in the game that told everyone this Ohio State season was for real.

Leading the revitalization of the Ohio State basketball program in his final season

was a fitting end for the career of a top 30 national

recruit who spent his first three seasons fighting injuries while finding his way. When it all came together this year,

Cada Bates Diop found a game as poetic as his name.

That game is known to Ohio State fans, Big Ten fans, college basketball fans,

and it should soon be seen in the NBA.

And when they know the game, they hear the name,

though most of us have been saying it wrong.

Not Kata Bates, Diy.

Kata-Aates.

Here's a little story about a name born of gratitude and knowledge, a name that gave a

six foot seven basketball player something to grow into. It's about. It means as parents that we were conscious about the blessing of having children.

It means as parents that we were conscious about the blessing of having children and

...