BOSTON - Part of the reason Jared Sullinger doesn't enjoy rehashing the decision he made a year ago to bypass the NBA Draft and certain lottery-pick status for another year at Ohio State is because Sullinger insists it wasn't much of a decision at all.
He never planned to do anything but come back and win not only a bunch of games, but a bunch of really big ones.
Saturday night's win -- Ohio State beat Syracuse to advance to next weekend's Final Four in New Orleans -- is the biggest yet. After Sullinger overcame two questionable early fouls to finish with a game-high 19 points and help the Buckeyes advance to their first Final Four since 2007, he had quite a platform to share his feelings.
"This is definitely what I came back for," he said. "To play in the Final Four. To get past the Sweet 16, to play in the Elite Eight. I can name everything I came back for.
"Nah, (I never had any) regrets. I love this school too much. I knew this basketball team had a chance to win."
A year ago, Sullinger was a freshman playing beyond his years but had plenty of experienced help -- three seniors started for the Buckeyes and Ohio State surrounded Sullinger with skilled 3-point shooters who made defenses pay for giving too much attention to Sullinger.
But the Buckeyes bowed out in the Sweet 16 at 34-2, a fallen favorite after a peaking Kentucky team edged the NCAA Tournament's No. 1 overall seed on a late jumpshot by Brandon Knight. Sullinger said immediately after that game he'd be back for his sophomore season and a few weeks later he found himself in his dorm room searching the Internet for a picture of Knight making that shot.
The picture he found has been hanging in the bathroom at Sullinger's apartment since the summer. He sees it every morning and every night.
He'll see it for a few more days, anyway. The Buckeyes will leave Wednesday for the Final Four. They've survived a long and trying season with new players and returnees in new roles because Sullinger has led the way and lots of other guys have contributed, too. The win over Syracuse was Ohio State's eighth in their last nine games that followed an alarming stretch of three losses in five games that cost the Buckeyes a chance at a No. 1 seed and had plenty of people writing them off.
"Right now we're just seizing the moment," Sullinger said. "They're not supposed to be easy. We took a couple bumps to the head and we iced those down and put our guard up.
"I made the right decision, without a doubt. It was a chance for me to work on my game, elevate my game and win. This team worked very hard to get here."
This team dances on to play either Kansas or North Carolina next Saturday night because Sullinger played this weekend like a refreshed, dominant and focused veteran. He got more rested than he wanted in the regional final after two controversial early fouls put him on the bench just six minutes into the game.
"I kind of take off my jersey and put on pom-poms and a tutu and start celebrating with the guys on the bench," Sullinger said. "I just try to be a coach, see what i see. You see a lot more than what you see when you're in the game."
He played every minute in the second half, finishing with 19 points and 7 rebounds. Four Buckeyes scored in double figures and Lenzelle Smith Jr. hit several big shots down the stretch. When do-it-all point guard fouled out with 48 seconds left and Syracuse still very much alive, the first thing freshman backup point guard Shannon Scott did against the Syracuse press was throw the ball to Sullinger.
"The biggest thing is I tried to elevate my game to another level," Sullinger said. "Coach (Thad) Matta told me these (young) guys are looking up to me all the time. (There were times) we needed to push through practice or something, and I pushed through and guys see that and push through it as well.
"We couldn't have won this (Syracuse) game without everybody."
Sullinger admitted last month that he was paying too much attention to what was being said about Ohio State's team and worrying too much about how officials were calling games. He vowed to quit whining, signed off of social media -- he calls it "a Twitter vacation" -- and refocused on being the guy the Buckeyes run most everything through when things are going well.
After surviving the first half tied at 29, Sullinger brought plenty of energy to the Buckeyes in the second half. They needed less than two minutes to grab the lead for good, and Sullinger showed plenty of emotion over those final 18 minutes and during the celebration afterwards.
"We still have more work to do," Sullinger said. "We're one step closer. We're getting closer and closer every step. We're going to enjoy this -- we have the 24-hour rule -- and then we're back to business."
Back to trying to finish the job Sullinger envisioned doing all along.
