Roy Williams (Getty Images)One of the questions Roy Williams fielded from a fan Wednesday night during a Tar Heel Tour event in Charlotte was probably far tougher than those he typically receives from reporters during press conferences.

Asked if he stopped recruiting Mason Plumlee four years ago because he did not want to go head-to-head with Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski, Williams predictably chafed a bit at the line of questioning. Inside Carolina has the full response from Williams, who noted he won a fierce recruiting battle against Krzyzewski only two years ago to land Iowa native Harrison Barnes.

"I went to freaking Ames, Iowa eleven times and [Krzyzewski's rear end] went twice," Williams said. "Don't tell me I'm not going to go head-to-head."

Williams did go on to explain why he stopped recruiting Plumlee, making it pretty easy for the in-state product to decide to join his older brother at Duke in Feb. 2008. Travis and David Wear committed to North Carolina in Jan. 2008, taking up both the scholarships Williams had available for post players in that class and leaving Williams with no room for Plumlee on his roster.

"It was one of the dumbest things I've ever done, because I needed two post players and all of a sudden I get a phone call from the Wear family," Williams said.

The Wear twins, of course, played only one season at North Carolina before surprising Williams by abruptly transferring to UCLA. Plumlee, on the other hand, is expected to be Duke's interior focal point as a senior next season after averaging 11.1 points and 9.2 boards as a junior.

Bernie Fine (US Presswire)Of the many bizarre headlines the Bernie Fine saga has produced since two ex-ball boys accused the former Syracuse assistant of molesting them, this next one may be the most unlikely of all of them.

Fine has found work again in basketball.

Maccabi Haifa, an Israeli pro team owned by Florida-based businessman Jeffrey Rosen, announced Thursday it has hired Fine as a basketball consultant to the team. Fine will do his consulting from the U.S., but will assist on player-personnel decisions as well as the team's upcoming coaching search.

The press release issued by Maccabi Haifa on Thursday morning, of course, makes no mention of the accusations that derailed Fine's career.

Fine worked for Syracuse for 36 seasons before he was fired in November once the former ball boys made their accusations and a recorded conversation between one of the ball boys, Bobby Davis, and Fine's wife also went public. Laurie Fine appeared to suggest on the recording that she knew her husband had molested Davis.

Since Fine has denied any wrongdoing and no charges have been filed, there's certainly nothing unlawful about Maccabi Haifa hiring him, especially since he will be remaining in the U.S. to do his work. Still considering the pool of out-of-work basketball coaches who aren't under federal investigation right now, it seems like the team might have been better off hiring someone else.

(Via Purdue Exponent)Apparently convinced Purdue's previous logo didn't sell enough t-shirts and caps because of the plume of smoke coming from the train, Nike recommended the school tweak its logo in time for next school year.

Purdue listened to Nike's concerns and came up with the perfect solution: A new train logo with a new plume of smoke!

"It's really a Nike-driven initiative," associate athletics director Tom Schott told the Purdue Exponent. "Nike had come to us a while back with some suggestions. Nike said the train logo we used was not good on apparel. The smoke didn't work on shirts and hats. They recommended this slight revision."

A design expert may disagree, but it's hard to imagine the new logo would sell any better or worse than the old one, right? In fact, considering the similarities between the two, all but the most diehard Purdue fans are unlikely to notice there even is a new logo.

Judging by a Big Ten Network poll, however, the diehards have noticed some differences between the new and the old look — and they aren't happy about them. Not only do 81 percent of Purdue fans polled prefer the old logo, they've taken to the comments section to point out details they dislike.

Ultimately, the real merchandising lesson is this: Winning sells any logo. How else do you explain Wichita State basketball fans still purchasing t-shirts displaying a musclebound wheat man clad in a WSU sweater and chewing on some wheat?

Rayvonte Rice (AP)

Even though sophomore Rayvonte Rice revealed Wednesday that he intends to transfer to Illinois at the end of spring semester, the ex-Drake guard still has one difficult decision left to make.

Rice has to decide what to do with the snarling bulldog tattooed on his chest and the "Drake Bulldogs, No. 24" inked on his right leg.

Rayvonte Rice's Drake Bulldogs 24 tattoo (US Presswire)Rhonda Rice, Rayvonte Rice's mother, said her son plans to keep the Bulldog on his chest because it's "part of his history." The other tattoo is also salvageable since Rice will wear No. 24 again at Illinois, but it will still require some reworking.

"He won't get it lasered off," Rhonda Rice said. "He'll just change it. He'll get something wrapped around the 24 to cover up the other part and he'll add the Illini symbol to it."

At the time Rice got both tattoos just before he enrolled at Drake two years ago, both he and his mom thought the school would be an ideal fit. Rice made the Missouri Valley's All-Freshman Team and earned second-team all-league honors as a sophomore, but Drake's inability to contend for the league title or an NCAA tournament berth convinced him it was time to seek a more high-profile program.

Ex-Illinois coach Bruce Weber did not recruit Rice out of high school, a snub that Rice's mom admits stung her son since he grew up in Champaign, Ill., rooting for the Illini. New Illinois coach John Groce did not make the same mistake twice, and it was his recruiting pitch that helped persuade Rice to give his hometown school a second look.

"What helped us trust him were the words he said during Rayvonte's visit," Rhonda Rice said. "He said, 'We both have a second chance to represent the U of I and to make history. The first time you weren't recruited by Illinois and I wasn't Illinois' first choice to be coach either."

It looks like Kentucky's heir apparent in the paint may be more successful than his predecessor in persuading his teammates to adopt his signature look.

[ Related: Nerlens Noel makes Kentucky recruiting class scary ]

Whereas only rabid fans were willing to pay tribute to Anthony Davis' celebrated unibrow this past winter, incoming freshman Nerlens Noel has already managed to get his future point guard to imitate his famed high top fade. The above photo the nation's No. 1 recruit tweeted on Tuesday shows NC State transfer Ryan Harrow sporting what Noel is calling the "Flat Top Gumby."

It remains to be seen whether Noel can get any more Kentucky players to don the haircut Kid 'n Play made famous, but rest assured it probably won't be a team-wide trend. Hard to imagine Kyle Wiltjer or Jarrod Polson getting any ideas.

[ Related: Top teams in recruiting rankings did a nice job filling holes ]

Regardless, Noel will always be unique for at least one reason: The UK logo shaved into the back of his head.

Said Noel in his latest ESPN.com diary entry: "I've decided to keep the "UK" throughout the college season. So it's not going anywhere."

Dominique Ferguson (AP)Four hours after the appeals hearing that determined if Florida International would release him from his scholarship as he requested, sophomore Dominique Ferguson checked his email to see if he'd gotten a response.

The email he found left him angry and flabbergasted.

An appeals panel consisting of three FIU board members refused to grant Ferguson his release, meaning the former highly touted recruit would have to pay his own way to play basketball at another Division I college. The panel members wrote they believed it would be more "beneficial" to Ferguson to stay at FIU even though he'd just explained he no longer felt comfortable after the firing of coach Isiah Thomas and he wanted to attend school closer to his family in Indianapolis.

[ Also: Baylor's Quincy Miller has a change of heart and will enter NBA draft ]

"They've given schools way too much power to tell another human being what they can and can't do," Ferguson said. "They've never met me before. They don't know me from the next athlete. For them to tell me it would be more beneficial to stay here, it's kind of a slap in the face."

Unable to transfer and unwilling to remain at FIU, Ferguson decided Monday night that he will enter the NBA draft, as first reported earlier Tuesday by CBSSports.com. The 6-foot-8 forward was once a top 100 prospect, but he would be very unlikely to be drafted this June after averaging 8.7 points and 6.2 rebounds this past season for an FIU team that lost 21 games last season.

Ferguson stopped short of saying FIU was forcing him to enter the draft by not releasing him from his scholarship, but he acknowledged he only began considering this option once he lost his appeal. An FIU spokesman did not return an email seeking comment from athletic director Pete Garcia or new coach Richard Pitino.

Mohamed Fall (AP)Eight months after discovering starting center Mohamed Fall might be ineligible to play Division I basketball his senior year, Montana State coach Brad Huse remained optimistic common sense would prevail.

He chose not to honor Fall prior to the last home game of his junior season last month even though he knew it potentially was the 24-year-old Senegalese-born big man's final chance to play in front of Montana State's home crowd.

Alas, as too often is the case, the NCAA favored a strict interpretation of an obscure rule over a more logical or compassionate penalty. Fall lost his entire final year of Division I eligibility because he played in two showcase exhibition games four years ago when he was trying to catch the eye of a coach with a scholarship to offer him.

According to NCAA rules, "any participation in organized sports competition during each 12-month period after your 21st birthday and before initial full-time enrollment in a collegiate institution shall count as one year of varsity competition." Montana State sought a waiver and filed an appeal seeking a shorter suspension after discovering the issue last summer, but both have been denied even though Fall didn't know the rule existed at the time he played in the showcase games.

"Mohamed always thought this would be rectified, so there's a realization that has hit now that has made this more difficult for him," Huse said. "He's not an individual that will show you how upset he is, but we've had some lengthy talks and I know he's really disappointed on a lot of levels. He doesn't want to move. He likes where he's at. He knows he could have a big year here and finish his education here."

Montana State will honor Fall's scholarship during the 2012-13 school year should he want to finish his degree in agricultural business, but that would mean that the 6-foot-9 senior would not be able to play basketball. As a result, Fall is searching for a lower-level program likely in the NAIA where he can finish his degree and pursue his dreams of one day playing professional hoops.

Terrence Jones delivers Louisville cheerleader Jerica Logue flowers (photo via Maggie Ruper of WHAS)

Never let it be said Terrence Jones doesn't keep his promises.

Three weeks after the Kentucky forward barreled into Louisville cheerleader Jerica Logue chasing down a loose ball during the Final Four, Jones found a way to atone for the four stitches she had to get at halftime to close the wound on top of her head. Jones showed up to Louisville cheerleading practice on Monday night with a bouquet of flowers just as he said he would do when informed about Logue's injuries the night of the game.

"For her to get stitches during the game and it being my fault, I told her I would do it," Jones told Louisville TV station WHAS. "I just had to keep to my word."

[ Related: Terrence Jones offers to buy flowers for injured cheerleader ]

The collision left Logue bloodied and in tears, but she composed herself after getting stitches and returned to her spot on the baseline to cheer on the Cardinals in the second half of their 69-61 loss. Even though she'd read Jones had said he'd drive to Louisville with flowers for her, Logue admits she wasn't sure the Kentucky forward would actually make the trip.

"I was surprised," Logue told WHAS. "I think it's really nice of him. I know he said he was going to do it, but I didn't actually think he would."

Credit Jones for his sincerity and thoughtfulness. The notoriously vicious Kentucky-Louisville rivalry has produced countless arguments and fist fights in recent years, so it's good to see it can deliver an occasional heartwarming scene like this as well.