Greg Whittington (Getty Images)If Greg Whittington's return from academic ineligiblity is a big reason Georgetown isn't expected to take a big step backward without Otto Porter, then it may soon be time to revise those predictions.

Whittington suffered a "significant" knee injury severe enough to jeopardize his season, ESPN.com reported Tuesday. The extent of the injury is unclear at this time because the school has yet to confirm it, but CasualHoya.com reported Whittington has been seen on campus on crutches and cited a source who said Georgetown fears the 6-foot-8 forward has suffered a torn ACL.

If Whittington's injury is indeed season-ending, that's a major blow to a Georgetown team with aspirations of winning the new Big East next season. Whittington averaged 12.1 points and 7.0 rebounds before being ruled academically ineligible last January prior to a game against St. John's.

The challenge of replacing Porter's 16.5 points and 7.2 rebounds per game becomes much more difficult for Georgetown if Whittington is unavailable.

Rising senior Nate Lubick and rising junior Mikael Hopkins both return, but neither has proven they can be a consistent interior scoring threat. Highly touted freshman Reggie Cameron could play some power forward in a pinch, while UCLA transfer Joshua Smith is capable of making a huge impact at center once he becomes eligible in mid-December but only if the massive 7-footer can trim 30 or 40 pounds.

Throw in guards Markel Starks and D'Vauntes Smith-Rivera, and there's still more than enough talent on the Georgetown roster even without Whittington to return to the NCAA tournament and even contend in the new Big East. Still, you can't blame Georgetown fans for hoping that Whittington's injury turns out to be less severe than currently feared.

Elfrid Payton (USA Today Sports Images)

The most surprising player to earn a spot on the U.S. U-19 team Monday night needed a late plea from his head coach just to earn the chance.

Louisiana-Lafayette's Elfrid Payton wasn't on USA Basketball's radar as recently as a few weeks ago when Ragin Cajuns coach Bob Marlin dialed Billy Donovan and urged him to consider inviting the 6-foot-3 rising junior to tryouts.

The 12 members of the U.S. U-19 World Championship team

"I told him, 'I don't sell my guys but Elfrid is really good and might be able to help,'" Marlin said. "I told him he could call Richard Pitino or Tom Izzo because Elfrid really played well against both their teams. He said, 'I don't need to call those guys. You and I have known each other a long time. If you say he's good enough, he's good enough.'"

Payton validated his coach's praise with an eye-opening performance during tryouts in Colorado Springs the past few days. He showcased ball-hawking defense and explosive speed to the rim, outplaying highly touted point guards like Texas' Javan Felix, Villanova's Ryan Arcidiacono and Providence's Kris Dunn to survive Sunday's initial cut to 16 players and Monday's final cut to 12.

If Oklahoma State's Marcus Smart and Duke's Rasheed Sulaimon are the likely starters in the backcourt for the U.S. team, Payton has just as good a chance as any of the other three guards to earn playing time off the bench. He'll try to help his team capture gold at what has been the most elusive age level for USA Basketball, one in which the Americans have only taken first place once in the past six tournaments.

“I have a certain confidence about myself that I can play with anybody and against anybody," Payton told his hometown newspaper, the New Orleans Times-Picayune, on Monday night. "My goal was to compete against these guys and hold my own. Backing down wasn’t an option."

Trevor Lacey (Getty Images)

Hours after reports surfaced earlier this month that he had chosen NC State, ex-Alabama guard Trevor Lacey quickly refuted them.

"Don't start the rumors," he tweeted. "I haven't made a decision."

Lacey may not have been ready to make it official 10 days ago, but his preference for NC State doesn't appear to have wavered. He confirmed to coach Mark Gottfried on Monday he has chosen the Wolfpack over fellow ACC schools Pittsburgh and Miami, according to multiple reports.

"The coaches were real happy to get my papers, making it official," Lacey told PackPride.com. "I have a really good relationship with the coaches at NC State, and I think it's a place that I fit in really well at."

Even though Lacey will have to sit out a full year before making his NC State debut, he should be worth the wait for the Wolfpack. The 6-foot-3 former five-star recruit averaged 11.3 points and 3.2 assists per game as a sophomore at low-scoring Alabama last season, shooting better than 37 percent from behind the arc.

Lacey will join a 2014-15 backcourt that is unproven right now but should have a chance to gain experience next season. With five of NC State's top six scorers gone from last season, the Wolfpack will rely on sophomore Tyler Lewis and freshman Anthony Barber at point guard next season and LSU transfer Ralston Turner and junior college transfer Desmond Lee at shooting guard.

Walter McCarty's school ring (via eBay)

UPDATE: A Kentucky spokesman said Tuesday afternoon that Walter McCarty has succeeded in getting his 1996 title rings returned to him. Brooks Downing, president of the sports agency firm BD Global, tweeted Monday that McCarty's rings were for sale as a result of a "misunderstanding with a family member" and that the former Kentucky star is working diligently to get them back.

A voicemail left for Downing on Monday evening seeking further details was not immediately returned.

Walter McCarty's NCAA ring (via eBay)

When members of Kentucky's 1996 championship team received rings from the school on Feb. 28 to commemorate their national title, former Wildcats forward Walter McCarty was one of the most vocal about what the honor meant to him.

"Any excuse we can have to get together, it’s awesome,” McCarty told Central Kentucky News that day. "We have had a tremendous time here. Getting the ring and walking on that court again in front of Big Blue Nation was awesome."

McCarty's comments make it more surprising that his new ring and the one he received from the NCAA 17 years ago are both apparently up for sale. A photo of them at a Boston pawn shop surfaced this weekend and both are being listed on eBay, the NCAA ring selling for $3,400 and the school ring for $5,200.

Why would a player who spent 10 seasons in the NBA and three as an assistant coach at Louisville be selling his rings? It's easy to jump to the conclusion he needs the money given how many professional athletes have gone broke in recent years, but we certainly don't know that for sure.

Deandre Kane (Getty Images)Whether it was staggering through a disappointing 13-19 season last year or being pushed out the door by coach Tom Herrion in April, DeAndre Kane's career at Marshall didn't end the way he hoped.

Kane has found a way to salvage his reputation in Huntington, however, by writing a thank you letter to the city's newspaper.

In an eloquent letter published in Sunday's edition of the Times-Dispatch, Kane called Huntington his "second home" and said he will miss the town even though he's looking forward to a fresh start. The Pittsburgh native will finish his career at Iowa State after three all-league seasons for the Thundering Herd.

"I used to always think that basketball was everything, but after working with my teachers, coaches, and new family here in Huntington, I now realize that life is much more," Kane wrote.

"I know that things didn't end here the way I wanted them to and I apologize for not leading the team to the NCAA Tournament because this city deserves it. What I do promise though is to bring something back to this community better than a basketball championship -- hope and fun for the kids. Whether I play pro basketball or just become a business man, I'll continue to contribute to the youth in this area once I get my career.

Sheldon McClellan (Getty Images)

Losing its six leading scorers from last year's ACC championship team has been beneficial for Miami in at least one respect.

It has made the Hurricanes an attractive destination for transfers this offseason.

First, former all-conference Kansas State point guard Angel Rodriguez joined Miami in hopes of becoming the heir apparent to Shane Larkin. Next, ex-DePaul big man Donnavan Kirk chose the Hurricanes because they have ample frontcourt playing time available. And finally, late Sunday night Miami added another coveted transfer.

Guard Sheldon McClellan, who would have been Texas' leading returning scorer had he remained with the Longhorns, chose Miami over Oregon, Marquette and LSU, ESPN.com reported. Whereas Kirk will be eligible immediately and Rodriguez is petitioning for a waiver that would allow him to play next season too, McClellan will sit out the 2013-14 season and make his Hurricanes debut the following year.

There's a good chance McClellan will be worth the wait for Miami.

McClellan had to shoulder too great a scoring burden on a Texas team that didn't have Myck Kabongo for the first 23 games of this past season, but the 6-foot-4 sophomore still showed flashes of the potential that made him a top 50 recruit. He averaged 13.5 points per game for the Longhorns during a difficult season that ended well short of NCAA tournament contention.

Kevin Ware and Brianna BoelWhen a car crashed into 14-year-old Brianna Boel as she was crossing a busy Louisville intersection on Wednesday, she fractured her skull, broke one of her wrists and snapped two bones in one of her legs.

At first, John Boel was at a loss as he attempted to comfort his daughter prior to her surgery to repair her mangled wrist and leg. Then the WAVE 3 anchor asked Brianna to remember the courage Louisville guard Kevin Ware showed after he suffered a similarly gruesome broken leg in the first half of the Cardinals' Elite Eight game against Duke.

"I asked her to remember Kevin Ware, his break, how bad it was, how fast he was up on the sideline, and how he's already back shooting," Boel said via email. "She perked right up, that all clicked, and she immediately seemed more calm about what lied ahead."

If the conversation about Ware brought a smile to Brianna's face, imagine how much more inspired she became when he showed up in her room at Kosair Children's Hospital that evening.

A friend of John's saw his Facebook post about Brianna drawing strength from Ware's story and relayed the story to Ware via social media. Ware contacted the WAVE 3 newsroom soon afterward and asked John's permission to come visit with Brianna at the hospital.

"He was here within an hour, so soon that she was barely out of surgery and was in a lot of pain," John said. "He was so sweet to her that she was smiling for the first time in days."

Donte Hill and former Old Dominion coach Blaine Taylor (USA Today Sports Images)

Donte Hill chose not to participate in senior night festivities at Old Dominion last March because the 6-foot-4 guard was optimistic he'd win his petition this offseason and receive another full year of eligibility.

On Thursday, he learned never to assume common sense will prevail when the NCAA is involved.

NCAA officials denied Hill's petition, ruling that the eight minutes he played in a closed-door preseason scrimmage in 2010 counted as an entire season of eligibility. Hill did not play again in the 2010-11 season, transferring from Clemson to Old Dominion soon after the scrimmage and sitting out the rest of the year.

Newly hired Old Dominion coach Jeff Jones said Clemson officials told him they informed Hill he was risking an entire year of eligibility by transferring after the scrimmage, but Hill told Jones he was unaware until afterward. Regardless, barring a change of heart from the NCAA, Hill will not be allowed to play for Old Dominion next season and his college career is over.

"Donte was clearly disappointed, but I think he had at least to some degree come to grips that this was the most likely outcome," Jones said. "I feel bad for him. He's a very nice young man. He's done a great job in the classroom. Everyone at ODU I've talked to, talks about his character and his leadership. It's tough. It would have been great if the outcome had been different."

The bylaw in question states that "any competition, regardless of time, during a season in an intercollegiate sport shall be counted as a season of competition in that sport." The NCAA makes an exception for true freshmen, but Hill was beginning his sophomore season at Clemson when he participated in the scrimmage.