Jared Sullinger, William Buford should probably stick to hoops
Almost two decades after Michael Jordan definitively proved it isn't easy to transition from high level basketball to baseball, two other prominent basketball players offered another reminder.
Ohio State stars William Buford and Jared Sullinger found throwing out the ceremonial first pitch at a Triple-A Columbus Clippers game Tuesday night to be a bit more difficult than they expected.
Buford air-mailed his throw badly enough that the catcher had to get out of his crouch and reach up over his head to snag it. Clearly that made Sullinger paranoid of doing the same thing because the NBA-bound big man then bounced his attempt a few feet shy of home plate.
By no means were these anywhere close to the worst first pitch attempts we've witnessed from athletes — point guard John Wall and gymnast Shawn Johnson are top contenders for that title. Nonetheless, Buford and Sullinger were bad enough that they both ribbed each other about it afterward.
"He definitely out-threw me since it almost went into the stands," Sullinger joked in a TV interview with NBC4i.com. "I was trying to be polite. I didn't want (the catcher) to have to jump up and catch the ball like William made him to do."
