Shane Larkin (Getty Images)

Miami point guard Shane Larkin has yet to formally announce if he'll remain in college or enter this June's NBA draft, but the heralded sophomore may have hinted at his decision Friday evening.

In a picture posted to his Instagram account, Larkin thanked his teammates and coaches for making this a special season. Miami lost to Marquette in the Sweet 16 on Thursday night, capping a season in which the Hurricanes won both the ACC regular season and tournament titles.

"Regardless of what future decisions I make this has honestly been the best year of my life," Larkin wrote. "Thank you to my teammates, coaches and most importantly all of the fans for the support. I will forever be grateful for every moment shared with you all. This season was magical and something I will remember for the rest of my life. Im blessed to be a Miami Hurricane and represent the U! Thank you!!!!"

It would be foolish to assume Larkin is definitely NBA-bound based a letter that is vague and doesn't specify his intents, but the tone in which it is written makes it feel like a goodbye.

Larkin averaged 14.5 points and 4.6 assists as a sophomore, making a strong case for himself as the nation's second-best point guard behind only Michigan's Trey Burke by the end of the season. His slight stature would be a concern for NBA scouts, but his outside shooting, quickness and decision making coming off ball screens are all assets that would make him a potential first-round pick.

Gregg Marshall and Demetric Williams (USA Today Sports Images)

LOS ANGELES — At a time when high-profile programs were gauging Gregg Marshall's interest in leaving Wichita State a few years ago, the Shockers coach had a conversation with two colleagues during the NCAA tournament that helped influence him to stay.

On one side of Marshall was Creighton coach Greg McDermott, who left Northern Iowa for Iowa State in 2006 and endured four straight losing seasons before returning to his Missouri Valley comfort zone. On the other side of Marshall was then-Nebraska coach Doc Sadler, who left UTEP for the Huskers job in 2006 and finished in the lower half of the Big 12 all six of his seasons in Lincoln.

"They looked at me and said, 'Be careful what you ask for,'" Marshall said. "That always stuck with me."

Marshall will surely be a hot name on the coaching rumor mill again this spring with Wichita State in its first Elite Eight since 1981, but the Shockers coach was candid after Thursday night's victory over La Salle why it won't be easy to entice him to leave.

[Also: Syracuse Zone beats, batters Indiana into submission]

Seated in a folding chair outside his team's locker room, Marshall declared himself content in Wichita, noting he has a seven-figure salary, a house on a golf course, a supportive fan base and administration and a program formidable enough to contend for league titles and NCAA bids every year. The 50-year-old did not rule out leaving Wichita State if an elite program in a high-profile league showed interest, but he said he has turned down $2 million offers from major-conference schools in the past because he's not eager to mess with happy.

"I'm not in search of anything," Marshall said. "I've got a great life, great family, great community I live in, great school, great administration, great players. What more do I need? More money? That's the only thing. We can obviously make runs in the NCAA tournament from Wichita State.

"This could be a destination job for me. Now it may not be, but I'm just saying I'm not in a big hurry and I never have been."

LOS ANGELES — LaQuinton Ross was changing in Ohio State's locker room before Thursday's Sweet 16 matchup with Arizona when a Staples Center employee informed the sophomore forward whose locker he was using.

Much to his delight, it was Kobe Bryant's.

"To find out I had that locker, it felt great," Ross said. "That's one of my favorite players growing up and somebody I model my game after."

A few hours later, Ross sank a shot reminiscent of so many his locker-mate has hit in this building, a thunderbolt that silenced a mostly pro-Arizona crowd and ensured Ohio State an Elite Eight matchup with either La Salle or Wichita State.

With the score tied after a Mark Lyons three-point play capped a late Arizona comeback from a 10-point deficit, Aaron Craft used a high ball screen from Ross to try to create a mismatch but drew a double team instead. As a result, Craft whipped a pass to Ross spotted up to the left of the top of the key and then shouted "knockdown" as his teammate buried the 3-pointer over late-recovering Grant Jerrett with two seconds left to secure a 73-70 victory.

[Slideshow: Best photos of the NCAA tournament]

"I'm glad he listened to me," Craft joked afterward. "Sometimes you have to tell your guys what to do. I don't think he needed me to. It's just habit. He's a great player and it's great to see him knock that down."

LOS ANGELES — The last time their teams met in the NCAA tournament, Thad Matta earned bragging rights over close friend Sean Miller thanks to a late comeback, a last-gasp 3-pointer and a strong overtime.

Thursday night's Sweet 16 matchup between second-seeded Ohio State and sixth-seeded Arizona again ended with Miller congratulating Matta – and again the way it happened could not have been more dramatic.

Moments after Mark Lyons completed an Arizona rally from a 10-point deficit with a game-tying three-point play, Aaron Craft drew a double team on a high ball screen and found LaQuinton Ross spotted up behind the arc to the left of the top of the key. Ross buried the game-winning 3-pointer, giving Ohio State a 73-70 victory and advancing the Buckeyes to face the winner of Thursday's nightcap between ninth-seeded Wichita State and 13th-seeded La Salle in the West Regional finals.

[Slideshow: Best photos of the NCAA tournament]

That Ohio State is now one win away from a second straight Final Four would have been a mild surprise as recently as mid-February when the Buckeyes lost three of four to fall into fifth place in the Big Ten. It was then that complementary scorers finally began to emerge to lessen the pressure on Deshaun Thomas and Ohio State's formidable defense.

Craft scored 14 or more points in five of Ohio State's nine games prior to Thursday night, erupting for 18 and sinking the game-winning 3-pointer in the round of 32 against Iowa State. Ross also tallied 17 against the Cyclones and starting forward Sam Thompson had a career day against Iona with 20.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (Getty Images)If UCLA athletic director Dan Guerrero grows weary of trying to lure the likes of Billy Donovan or Brad Stevens to Westwood, there's a coach closer to home who is definitely interested in replacing Ben Howland.

Unfortunately for Guerrero, that coach has about as good a chance of being UCLA's next coach as Bill Walton has of being a dinner guest at Howland's home.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, one of the greatest players in UCLA history, has spent the past few days telling anyone who will listen that he wants to be the next coach at his alma mater. He first said it during an appearance on the Jimmy Kimmel Show on Tuesday night, he elaborated to the Los Angeles Times on Wednesday and he drilled home the point on a radio interview Thursday morning.

"I've been lobbying for the job and I want the job," Abdul-Jabbar told Fox Sports Radio's Jay Mohr. "Hopefully I'll find out in short order what's going on there."

What's going on, of course, is that Abdul-Jabbar is probably not a realistic candidate for the job despite his ultra-successful playing career at UCLA and in the NBA.

[Related: Shaka Smart remains loyal to VCU, leaving UCLA, Minnesota jobs open]

His head coaching experience consists of leading the Oklahoma Storm to the USBL title in 2002. He has never coached at the college level, nor does he have any experience or contacts as a recruiter. And while he has mellowed some in recent years, he can still sometimes come off as prickly and aloof, not the ideal combination for a coach who has to charm top prospects and Los Angeles-area fans.

Sheldon McClellan (Getty Images)

Already under fire at Texas after missing the NCAA tournament for the first time in his 15-year tenure this March, Longhorns coach Rick Barnes now has lost a player who would have been key to his hopes of a resurgence next season.

Sheldon McClellan, Texas' leading scorer prior to Myck Kabongo's return from a 23-game NCAA-mandated suspension, has asked for his release and intends to transfer, his mother told ESPN.com late Wednesday night. The 6-foot-4 sophomore averaged 13.5 points per game for the Longhorns this season, though his 38.2 percent shooting reflects that he was asked to carry too big a load on a team that lacked proven scorers.

The loss of McClellan will be especially difficult to overcome if Kabongo opts to follow him out the door and declare for the NBA Draft. The sophomore point guard is viewed as a likely second-round pick with an outside shot of sneaking into the first round after he averaged 14.6 points and 5.5 assists once he regained his eligibility in February.

If Texas has neither Kabongo nor McClellan next season, finding perimeter scoring next season may be as tough as it was during this year's disappointing 16-18 campaign. A Longhorns team dominated by freshman and sophomores struggled to make up for the loss of J'Covan Brown to the NBA and Kabongo for the first 23 games of the season, shooting only 29. 7 percent from from behind the arc and 41.3 percent overall,

Since its recruiting class isn't as star-studded as usual next season, Texas' best hope for improvement if Kabongo doesn't return is probably the development of some of its other young talent. Julien Lewis is a dangerous outside shooter and Javan Felix showed an occasional burst of talent filling in for Kabongo at point guard, but they'll need to make major strides in the offseason, as will young big men Jonathan Holmes, Connor Lammert and Cameron Ridley.

Sean Miller and Thad Matta greet each other before their 2007 NCAA tournament game (AP)

LOS ANGELES — The friendship between Arizona's Sean Miller and Ohio State's Thad Matta began with a practical joke.

A few days after Matta joined the staff at Miami (Ohio) as an assistant coach in 1994, Miller asked his new colleague if he wanted to drive with him to a coaching clinic Miller would be speaking at the next morning. Matta asked where the clinic was, and Miller responded casually, "I'm not exactly sure. It's around here somewhere."

"We left at 6:00 from Oxford and arrived in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, at like 3 a.m," Matta recalled with a smile. "He got me. At that point, I kind of knew what I was in for."

[Related: Watch: Midwest Region Sweet 16 keys ]

Miller's and Matta's lives will again intertwine Thursday night in Los Angeles when second-seeded Ohio State and sixth-seeded Arizona face off in the West regional semifinals. Though the matchups on the floor will be fun to watch, the most intriguing duel will be the battle of wits on the sidelines as two close friends very familiar with each other's rosters and strategies try to stay one step ahead of one-another.

The only time Matta and Miller have ever coached head-to-head was in a memorable second-round NCAA tournament game in 2007. Top-seeded Ohio State stormed back from a nine-point deficit in the final three minutes against Miller's Xavier team, tying the game on a Ron Lewis 3-pointer with two seconds to go in regulation and pulling away in overtime.

Matta and Miller didn't even realize a Sweet 16 rematch was a possibility this March until they traded texts a few hours after this year's selection show. Miller mentioned he liked his team's draw because of the possibility of Arizona fans taking over Staples Center if his team advanced to the West Regional. It was then that Matta took a closer look at the bracket and realized his team could be LA-bound too.

Shaka Smart (Getty Images)

Havoc won't be coming to either Los Angeles or Minneapolis.

VCU coach Shaka Smart passed up the chance to discuss the UCLA and Minnesota jobs, opting instead to sign a contract extension that reportedly goes until 2023 and increases his salary from $1.2 million to $1.5 million.

Smart's decision to remain at VCU marks the third consecutive spring he has rebuffed interest from more high-profile programs. Last March, Smart had a lucrative offer to replace Bruce Weber at Illinois, but stayed at VCU, prompting the school to drive home the message with a photo on the front of its athletics site that showed Smart giving two thumbs up with the message of "He's Our Guy."

[Also: Sweet 16 teams thriving without highly touted recruits]

It's unclear whether UCLA or Minnesota would have offered Smart if they had the chance, but either could have easily exceeded Smart's new $1.5 million salary if they did so.

A source with knowledge of the contract talks confirmed Smart's choice wasn't financially motivated and said his priority during negotiations was "supporting the players and the staff around him." That would include anything from more charter flights for road games, to higher salaries for assistant coaches, to upcoming facilities improvements.

VCU's willingness to comply shows its commitment to building its basketball program and its desire to keep its coach. Smart has amassed a 111-37 record in four seasons at VCU, winning at least one NCAA tournament game the past three seasons and taking the Rams to the 2011 Final Four.