Tony Mitchell (AP)The day after Tony Mitchell learned his coach was leaving for LSU last week, the North Texas star shared his disappointment with his former high school coach.

"He was down," Dallas Pinkston coach Nick Smith said. "He was like, 'Man, I know Coach had to go because that's his dream job, but everything seems like it's messed up because the whole staff is going to be split up.  I might as well leave and go to the NBA.'"

Smith allowed Mitchell to vent about North Texas coach Johnny Jones' departure for a while before encouraging the redshirt freshman not to make a rash decision to renege on his commitment to return to school.

Despite reports last week Mitchell "almost certainly" will enter the NBA draft, Smith said that's not the direction the 6-foot-8 projected first-round pick is leaning at this point. Smith said Mitchell is "almost sure" he'll return to North Texas for one more year, though there's still a slim chance that could change before the April 29 early-entry deadline depending on who the Mean Green hire as their next coach.

"Tony made a solid commitment to return to North Texas and that's what he's standing by right now," Smith said."He told me, 'Coach, I'm here. After they find a coach and meet with us, I'm almost sure I'm going to be here.'"

The temptation of the NBA had been easier for Mitchell to ignore prior to Jones' departure because he feels he has a lot to gain by returning to school.

Josh Pastner (Getty Images)Josh Pastner may be the first college basketball coach ever to blame his wife after committing a minor NCAA violation.

Late Tuesday night, Pastner used the University of Memphis' men's basketball Twitter account to inadvertently tweet "Tony Parker," the name of a highly touted Class of 2012 big man from Georgia that the Tigers have long coveted. Even though Pastner deleted the tweet minutes later, by rule that constitutes a secondary violation because the NCAA prohibits coaches from publicly discussing unsigned recruits.

Asked Wednesday for an explanation for the errant tweet, Pastner told the Memphis Commercial Appeal he was trying to do an Internet search for Parker's name. He blamed the mistake on distractions from the pressures of recruiting, filling a vacancy on his staff and dealing with a pregnant wife.

"My wife was yelling at me because I was on the phone too loud. I was waking (the couple's infant daughter) up and waking my wife up because I had the TV on. She was complaining that I not only woke my daughter up, but I also woke the baby inside her up because she's pregnant.

"So I was waking everybody up, I was getting yelled at and on top of that I was thinking, 'What's going on with recruiting?' and 'Who am I going to hire?' and I made a mistake."

While Memphis is not among the finalists to land Parker, the good news for Pastner is the violation almost certainly won't draw even a second look from the NCAA — and rightfully so. Dozens of schools each year self-report inadvertent secondary violations such as this one without punishment.

Jarrod Uthoff (US Presswire)Even though Bo Ryan deserves credit for addressing the Jarrod Uthoff situation publicly for the first time Wednesday night, the Wisconsin coach probably didn't help himself by breaking his silence.

Instead of apologizing to the freshman forward for severely restricting which schools he can contact to pursue a transfer, Ryan attempted to justify his decision by insisting this is a common phenomenon across the nation.

"There are rules of a scholarship. I didn't make them up," Ryan told ESPN's Andy Katz. Ryan later added, "This is something that all coaches do. I didn't make the rules. I'm just following them."

Scholarships do indeed come with a set of rules, but nowhere among them are coaches compelled not to release a transfer to 26 schools. Ryan, clearly angry at Uthoff's sudden and unexpected decision to transfer last week, banned the Iowa native from contacting Iowa State, Marquette, Florida and every school in the Big Ten or ACC.

Had Ryan merely barred Uthoff from reaching out to rival Marquette and other Big Ten schools, it wouldn't have been a magnanimous decision, but it also wouldn't have created a media firestorm. Instead, he crossed the line between protecting his program's interest and trying to restrict the opportunities available to a player out of spite.

The fact that Ryan attempts to justify not releasing Uthoff to the entire ACC because of a 1-in-12 chance of playing that team once a year in the Big Ten-ACC Challenge? That's remarkably petty. Same goes for Iowa State, which isn't even on Wisconsin's schedule in the future and also happens to be the only power-conference team in Uthoff's home state that's not a member of the Big Ten.

In a contentious follow-up interview on ESPN's "Mike & Mike in the Morning" on Thursday, Ryan again emphasized this happens at "300 and something" schools across the nation, a point which is overstated and still doesn't justify the practice. Then he played the victim card, accusing the media of going after Wisconsin but not other schools who do the same.

UndefinedPat Summitt (Getty Images)Legendary Tennessee women's basketball coach Pat Summitt retired Wednesday after 38 years coaching the Lady Vols. Here's a look at how some of her former players, friends and peers reacted to the news:

In the 4 years I played for her, Pat Summitt taught me more about life than ball. That's the difference between a good coach and a legend. I'll never forget freshman year when Pat gave me the birds and the bees talk...lol. "Anosike...if you give him the milk he aint gon want the cow!" -Pat Summitt — Former Tennessee center Nicky Anosike (Twitter)

"Coach Summitt is the reason I am a coach and why I am here (at LSU) today. She gave me an opportunity to go into coaching as a graduate assistant in 1998. More importantly, she has always been there for me since I was 18 years old. She's my mentor, my friend and a part of my family and that will last forever. She has been a pioneer in opening doors for women in so many areas. Those who have played or coached for Coach Summitt always take a part of her with us wherever we go in our respective jobs. — LSU women's coach Nikki Caldwell (Statement)

"Pat's vision for the game of women's basketball and her relentless drive pushed the game to a new level and made it possible for the rest of us to accomplish what we did. In her new role, I'm sure she will continue to make significant impacts on the University of Tennessee and on the game of women's basketball as a whole." — UConn women's coach Geno Auriemma (The Associated Press)

"4 yrs removed from UT I still hear "PARKER REBOUND!" in my head during games ... Thanks Coach Pat, I love you! #OnceALadyVolAlwaysALadyVol" — Former Tennessee forward Candace Parker (Twitter)

I actually think it's a great opportunity. It takes a lot of stress off of Pat but at the same time it keeps her around the program, it keeps her around the game and it keeps the fans coming. They love Pat Summitt. They like seeing us play, they enjoy the Lady Vols and the rest of the coaches, but they love Pat Summitt and that's why they keep coming. I'm just so glad she gets to stay around our program. — Former Tennessee forward Glory Johnson (WBIR)

Tulsa's Jordan Clarkson (No. 3) (US Presswire)

Like jilted lovers, persistent telemarketers and overeager reality TV contestants, college basketball coaches and administrators rarely accept rejection gracefully.

Tulsa star Jordan Clarkson learned that firsthand this week when he informed the Golden Hurricane of his intent to transfer and submitted a list of nine schools he wanted to have permission to contact.

Even though the sophomore guard's father insists those nine are neither members of Conference USA nor future opponents for Tulsa, athletic director Ross Parmley only granted three of the schools permission to contact Clarkson. That leaves Clarkson with the option of transferring to Vanderbilt, Colorado or TCU if those schools have interest and a scholarship for him, or paying his own way at a school of his choice.

"I do believe it's an abuse of power," Mike Clarkson said. "Given what my son has done at the University of Tulsa and how he has conducted himself, what I asked for is what is the reasoning behind it. That is something we've actually requested and haven't gotten any answer on."

Tulsa spokesman Donald Komkalski declined to make Parmley available for an interview or to provide an explanation for the school's decision to restrict Clarkson's options. Speculation at Tulsa has been that Clarkson wanted to transfer to Texas or another power-conference program in his home state, but his father is adamant that the family still has not spoken to any coaches and no tampering has taken place.

In a year in which college basketball is on pace to produce a record number of transfers, similar disputes to the one between Clarkson and Tulsa are flaring up across the nation.

A few minutes into his soliloquy to open Tuesday evening's press conference, Kentucky coach John Calipari finally arrived at the part of his speech in which he planned to reveal the future plans of the five underclassmen seated next to him.

First he announced the players to his right, Anthony Davis, Doron Lamb and Terrence Jones, were entering the NBA draft as expected. Then he paused dramatically as though there was a chance the freshmen to his left, Michael Kidd Gilchrist and Marquis Teague, might be returning to school.

"I tried to scare some coaches out there," Calipari said. "That's all I was doing."

There's no need for alarm in Gainesville or Bloomington or Louisville because the five freshmen or sophomores who started for Kentucky's national championship team last season are NBA-bound as expected. Those five and senior sixth man Darius Miller accounted for 92.2 percent of the Wildcats' scoring last season and all but 14 of their 488 NCAA tournament points.

[ Pat Forde: Wildcats will be fine with new crop of talent coming ]

Despite those staggering totals, this was still a day of celebration in the Commonwealth rather than a day of mourning.

First, the nationally televised news conference was a dream infomercial for Calipari, whose sales pitch to top prospects has been that his program prepares them better and quicker for the NBA than anyone else does. Secondly, Kentucky certainly won't suffer through a rebuilding year next season even though the core of this year's title team is moving on.

Calipari has once again signed the nation's No. 1 recruiting class headlined by Rivals.com's No. 1 class of 2012 prospect, center Nerlens Noel, and a handful of other guys capable of making an immediate impact. Add in sweet-shooting returner Kyle Wiltjer and highly touted NC State transfer point guard Ryan Harrow, and Kentucky has the talent to contend for a third consecutive Final Four.

Larry Brown (Getty Images)Nearly a quarter century after he led Kansas on an unlikely run to the 1988 national title, Hall of Fame coach Larry Brown is apparently returning to his college roots.

The well-traveled 71-year-old accepted an offer to become SMU's next coach, ESPN.com reported Tuesday afternoon. An announcement confirming that report could come as soon as late Tuesday, marking the end of a meandering 35-day coaching search that included rejections from splashy names like Marquette's Buzz Williams, Harvard's Tommy Amaker and Saint Louis' Rick Majerus.

The idea of hiring Brown to resuscitate SMU's long-struggling program is not one I'm fond of because Brown's age and nomadic track record promise to make recruiting a challenge. Whereas NBA teams have found success hiring Brown to oversee their rebuilding process and then leave two or three years later, that system will be difficult to duplicate at the collegiate level.

Brown boasts few ties to the Dallas-area high school and club scene, and might not be able to handle the rigors of long days away from home recruiting anyway. Plus, recruits won't come to a school if they aren't confident the current head coach will stay long enough to coach them, especially when opposing schools are in their ear whispering that Brown could leave at any moment.

What makes me have a glimmer of hope for SMU under Brown is the staff ESPN.com reports he's trying to land would be top-notch.

Brown is hoping to get well-respected Illinois State coach Tim Jankovich as an associate head coach and coach in waiting, a vital move to combat the perception of instability atop the program. He also is expected to lure former Illinois assistant Jerrance Howard, a top-notch recruiter, and Kentucky's Rod Strickland, who has served in an administrative role under John Calipari the past two years.

Jarrod Uthoff and Bo Ryan (via UWBadgers.com)When promising freshman Jarrod Uthoff informed Wisconsin's coaching staff of his intent to transfer last week, the 6-foot-8 Iowa native's plan was to go to another strong program close to home.

The trouble is Wisconsin has severely limited his options by not allowing many schools Uthoff is interested in to contact him.

Jamie Johnson, Uthoff's former AAU coach with the Iowa Barnstormers, said Tuesday that less than half the 25 to 30 schools the forward asked for permission to speak with received a release from Wisconsin allowing them to do so. Uthoff told the Metro Sports Report on Monday evening that Wisconsin coach Bo Ryan has put the entire Big Ten, the entire ACC, Iowa State and Marquette on the list of schools forbidden from contacting him.

As a result of the restrictions, the only school Uthoff is interested in that has a scholarship available and permission to speak with him is Creighton, a perennial contender in the Missouri Valley Conference. Johnson said Uthoff intends to visit Creighton sometime in the next week, but he is also appealing Wisconsin's restrictions in hopes of opening other options for himself.

"He's a little surprised and disappointed," Johnson said. "I don't think he thought what is happening would happen. I think he thought they'd be a little upset by it or disappointed he was leaving, but they'd wish him well and turn their attention to their team.  I think he was caught off guard, knowing them the way he knows them, that they'd be vindictive."

[ Pat Forde: Kentucky will be fine with new crop of talent coming ]

A Wisconsin spokesman cited student privacy laws in declining to explain the rationale for denying Uthoff's transfer and indicated Ryan was unavailable for comment Tuesday. The spokesman did cite a section of the Wisconsin student-athlete handbook granting coaches the right to deny a transfer's request to contact another institution and giving the student-athlete just two days to submit a written request to appeal.

Even though Ryan has yet to comment publicly, the obvious assumption is the Badgers were surprised and upset by Uthoff's decision to transfer. They clearly don't want to face him in the future, whether it's at rival Marquette, in a conference game or in the Big Ten-ACC Challenge.