GREENSBORO, N.C. – Texas' fortunes next season will in part depend on whether Damion James and Dexter Pittman return, rather than enter the NBA draft.

Pittman leaving might be a stretch, and he said in Greensboro that he's going to be back next year. Though many scouts believe James, a junior, should return, they concede this is a weak draft and he might be a first-round pick.

"I'm not really thinking about anything [like that] right now but this team," James said after the loss to Duke. "It's just sad that we ended our season like this.

"I'm really looking forward to coming back and playing with this team, but I've got to look at my future. I have an opportunity to do some things. I'm going to talk to my mother and father, my coaches and coach Todd [Wright] and see what's best for me right now and what's best for our team.

James went down in front of the scorer's table with 5:16 to play and was out almost two minutes after suffering a stinger in his left arm.

"I hit a nerve ... and my whole arm went numb for like five minutes or so," he explained. "It was hurting real bad. But it's OK now."

Ward almost the hero: Texas again got a huge boost from freshman backup guard Varez Ward. Coach Rick Barnes inserted him in the last 10 minutes and told him that he was going to spread the floor and he wanted Ward to drive. He scored 12 of his 16 points thereafter.

"If Texas had won," Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski said, "[Ward] would have been the hero."