James Wiseman announced Thursday that he's withdrawing from Memphis and will spend the next six months preparing for the NBA Draft without playing college basketball.

The timing is undeniably odd.

To be clear, I completely understand when a consensus top-five pick decides to skip college from the jump -- or when an injured player concludes returning isn't worth it. But this isn't that. Wiseman wanted to play college basketball; that's why enrolled at Memphis. And he's not hurt. So, far as I can tell, he's the only healthy top-five prospect in history to just up and quit his team in the middle of the season for reasons he attached to the NBA Draft.

It's his right to do it, obviously.

But it's hard to compare Wiseman's decision to bolt with what Zion Williamson did last February without noticing the difference in mindsets of the two players. When Williamson suffered a knee injury against North Carolina after establishing himself as the sure-bet No. 1 pick of the 2019 NBA Draft, literally millions of people insisted he should not play another minute of college basketball. But the eventual consensus National Player of the Year paid it no mind. He loved playing with his best friends, loved representing Duke and wanted to compete for a national championship. He saw real value in college basketball. So he played and, by extension, benefitted -- evidence being that he signed the richest annual rookie shoe deal in history.

Wiseman saw no similar value.

Or, at least, he was convinced by others that the pros of rejoining the Tigers in a little more than three weeks did not outweigh the cons. Again, it's Wiseman's right to reach that conclusion -- and a person could reasonably argue it's the smart conclusion to reach, I guess. But by leaving his team, after serving the majority of his 12-game suspension, Wiseman has, I'm told, lost the respect of some of his former coaches and teammates. Everybody will say the right things publicly, probably. But behind the scenes, the coaches who fought for him, and the players who backed him, feel abandoned. If Zion Williamson could still play for Duke even after solidifying his draft stock in ways that far exceeded what James Wiseman has done, some Memphis players are wondering, why didn't James Wiseman choose to do the same?

It's a fair question to ask.

Either way, the season will roll on -- and the good news for Memphis is that, so far, the Tigers have been really good without Wiseman. They're 7-0 in his absence with victories over Tennessee, NC State and Ole Miss. That's not meant to suggest Memphis is better, or even as good, without the star center because that would be a foolish thing to suggest. But, on paper, the Tigers should still be good enough to win the AAC and at least compete for a trip to the second weekend of the NCAA Tournament.

Memphis is No. 9 in Friday's updated Top 25 And 1. The Tigers play Jackson State on Saturday. And Kansas is No. 1 for the fifth consecutive morning. The Jayhawks play at Villanova on Saturday.

Friday's Top 25 And 1 rankings

Biggest Movers
1 Dayton
8 Maryland
Rk
Teams
 
Chg
Rcrd
1 Kansas David McCormack scored a career-high 28 points in Saturday's 98-57 victory over Kansas City. The Jayhawks have won nine straight games since their season-opening loss to Duke. -- 23-11
2 Gonzaga Corey Kispert made 10 of the 12 shots he attempted and finished with 26 points in Wednesday's 94-81 victory over North Carolina. The Zags dealt UNC its fourth consecutive loss. -- 27-7
3 Ohio St. Kaleb Wesson finished with 18 points and 10 rebounds in Tuesday's 80-48 victory over Southeast Missouri State. The Buckeyes' resume features three 25-point wins over top-40 KenPom opponents. -- 22-14
4 Louisville Dwayne Sutton finished with eight points and 15 rebounds in Wednesday's 70-46 win over Miami of Ohio. The Cardinals used a 17-0 run in the second half to pull away. -- 8-24
5 Dayton Obi Toppin finished with 11 points, seven rebounds and six assists in Tuesday's 71-58 victory over North Texas. Dayton's lone loss is an overtime loss to Kansas. 1 25-8
6 Duke Joey Baker made five 3-pointers and finished with 22 points in Thursday's 86-57 victory over Wofford. The Blue Devils cruised even though Tre Jones missed the game with what Duke officials called a minor foot injury. 1 26-8
7 Virginia Kihei Clark finished with 14 points, six assists and five rebounds in Wednesday's 56-44 win over Stony Brook. Virginia has held eight of its 10 opponents to 47 or fewer points. 1 23-11
8 Oregon Payton Pritchard finished with 14 points, seven assists, five rebounds and three steals in Wednesday's 81-48 victory over Montana. N'Faly Dante added 11 points in what was the first game of his college career. 1 24-12
9 Memphis Tyler Harris made three 3-pointers and finished with 11 points in Saturday's 51-47 win at Tennessee. Memphis snapped the Vols' 31-game winning streak at home. 1 22-10
10 Michigan Zavier Simpson missed eight of his 11 field goal attempts in Saturday's 71-70 overtime loss to Oregon. The Wolverines are 1-3 since winning the Battle 4 Atlantis. 1 8-24
11 Auburn Samir Doughty scored 11 of his 24 points in the final five minutes of Thursday's 79-73 win over NC State. The Tigers are one of only four remaining unbeaten teams but still have zero victories over top-35 KenPom opponents. 1 27-8
12 Baylor Davion Mitchell finished with 19 points, four assists and four steals in Wednesday's 91-63 victory over UT Martin. The Bears have three wins over top-20 KenPom teams. 1 24-11
13 Maryland The Terrapins shot 26.9% from the field in Thursday's 52-48 loss to Seton Hall. Maryland lost despite the fact that the Pirates were missing their top two scorers. 8 16-17
14 Arizona Nico Mannion missed 17 of the 20 shots he attempted in Saturday's 84-80 loss to Gonzaga. Arizona allowed the Zags to shoot 47.5% from the field in the game. -- 27-8
15 Florida St. Balsa Koprivica scored 15 points in 15 minutes in Tuesday's 98-81 victory over North Florida. Florida State owns three wins over top-25 KenPom opponents. -- 17-16
16 Villanova Justin Moore came off the bench and got 16 points in Saturday's 78-70 win over Delaware. The Wildcats' two losses are to Ohio State and Baylor. -- 18-16
17 Washington Isaiah Stewart finished with 27 points and 13 rebounds in Tuesday's 81-59 win over Seattle. The five-star freshman is averaging 18.0. points and 8.4 rebounds per game. -- 17-15
18 Butler Aaron Thompson finished with eight points and eight assists in Saturday's 66-41 win over Southern. Butler has won 57 straight non-league games at home. -- 18-15
19 San Diego St. Yanni Wetzell scored 17 points in Wednesday's 92-48 victory over San Diego Christian. The 44-point win represented the 13th-largest margin of victory in San Diego State history. -- 26-10
20 VCU Marcus Santos-Silva finished with 17 points and 11 rebounds in Wednesday's 76-71 win at College of Charleston. The Rams won despite trailing by eight points at halftime. -- 24-14
21 Penn St. Lamar Stevens finished with 18 points and 11 rebounds in Saturday's 73-71 victory over Alabama. The Nittany Lions have six wins over top-100 KenPom teams. -- 16-17
22 Michigan St. Xavier Tillman finished with 15 points and 10 rebounds in Wednesday's 77-72 victory over Northwestern. The Spartans will take a three-game winning streak into Saturday's game with Eastern Michigan. -- 20-15
23 Iowa Luka Garza finished with 21 points and 11 rebounds in Thursday's win at Iowa State. The Hawkeyes' resume features four top-65 KenPom wins and only one loss to a team unranked in the Top 25 And 1. -- 19-15
24 Texas Tech Chris Clarke finished with 14 points, 11 rebounds and six assists in Monday's 71-65 victory over Southern Miss. The Red Raiders have only lost once with Jahmi'us Ramsey, their leading scorer, in the lineup. -- 23-11
25 Stanford Oscar de Silva finished with 18 points and five rebounds in Tuesday's 64-56 win over San Francisco. Stanford's lone loss is a one-point loss to Butler. -- 14-18
26 Creighton Ty-Shon Alexander finished with 19 points and 11 rebounds in Tuesday's 83-73 win over Oklahoma. The Bluejays' only losses are to Michigan and San Diego State. -- 25-9