It's funny how life comes full circle sometimes.

Michelle Munoz and her brother, Michael, both decided around the same time that they would attend the University of Tennessee to play sports after standouts careers at Mason High School -- Michelle in basketball, Michael in football.

Michelle ultimately left Knoxville and returned home to Columbus to play for Ohio State, but in an eerie twist she decided to end her career with the Buckeyes just days after her brother said that he no longer wanted to play football. Both cited injuries as the reason for their decision.

Michelle Munoz had her third ankle surgery in roughly 18 months, and just decided that if she wanted to continue doing the things she loved, she would have to walk away from basketball.

"It was a very hard decision," Munoz told BuckeyeSports.com. "I kept fighting and fighting, hoping that it would get better and I'd be able to play. But the doctors told me that if I kept playing, I could run the risk of not being healthy later on. I want to take care of my body, be able to run and play ball occasionally and just stay active. I couldn't do that if I kept pounding on the ankle with the demands of college basketball."

Munoz started 27 games for Ohio State as a junior, averaging 4.3 points and shooting 46.5 percent from beyond the arc.

This was not a decision that was reached hastily. It was festering in Munoz's mind for some time.

"I'd thought about it for a little while," she said. "I talked with my family and got some advice from them. In the end I decided to think long-term. It was a great experience for me at Ohio State. I made some great friends and it's something I'll never forget."

Munoz said that just because she's no longer on the team, it doesn't mean she'll disappear.

"We're working on things right now as far as me being involved in some way," Munoz said. "It's such a great bunch of girls that I would miss it too much if I was away from it. I'm hoping to be with them in some capacity."

OSU coach Jim Foster said he would miss Munoz's competitive fire, but felt it was the right decision for her to make.

"While we will miss Michelle's experience and competitiveness, we're hopeful of involving her in some dimension of our program," the coach said. "Michelle is the kind of role model student-athletes can learn from."