Anthony Bennett (AP)Among the numerous fans who have urged McDonald's All-American Anthony Bennett to consider their favorite school is one very recognizable name.

Comedian and late-night TV host Jimmy Kimmel tweeted Bennett Tuesday at the request of fellow UNLV fans, telling the nation's top unsigned recruit, "UNLV needs you Anthony!"  Bennett is deciding between the Rebels and Oregon after trimming Florida, Kentucky and Washington from his list in the past week.

Kimmel, who briefly attended UNLV before transferring to Arizona State, apparently still supports the Rebels. At the very least, he delivered the traditional "lights, please" pregame introduction before a game at the Thomas & Mack Center this past season.

Under the strictest interpretation of NCAA rules, Kimmel's tweet constitutes a very minor violation because "boosters" aren't allowed to help recruit prospective student-athletes in any way. Nonetheless, hundreds, if not thousands, of similar messages from fans to recruits go unpunished each day because the NCAA has no means of policing Twitter, Facebook and other forms of social media.

It's highly unlikely Kimmel's tweet will have any impact on Bennett's decision, of course, but it looks like the 6-foot-7 forward may be UNLV-bound regardless. A source told SNY.tv's Adam Zagoria Bennett is leaning "90 percent" toward selecting the Rebels over Oregon.

Landing Bennett would be a huge coup for a UNLV program likely to begin next season in the preseason top 25 with or without him. The Rebels would boast one of the nation's most talented frontcourts next season, with Bennett, Mike Moser and Carlos Lopez available right away and talented Pittsburgh transfer Khem Birch eligible by mid-December.

Nerlens Noel (Getty Images)The revelation that the NCAA is investigating eligibility concerns about Kentucky signee Nerlens Noel inspires one obvious question.

How worried should Kentucky be?

On the one hand, NCAA investigators typically only look into the background of prospects whose recruitment is fraught with red flags. On the other hand, the NCAA's track record of uncovering evidence damning enough to threaten an elite player's eligibility is certainly less than impressive.

The New York Times reported late Wednesday night that two members of the NCAA's enforcement staff visited Massachusetts to speak with coaches, school administrators and advisers to Noel. Among the topics covered were Noel's relationship with ex-Providence assistant Chris Driscoll and former Everett High School substitute teacher Errol Randolph, both of whom have served as advisers to the 6-foot-11 center.

A previous New York Times investigative piece detailed how Driscoll was banned from Tilton Prep School's campus after coaches alleged he was attempting to steer Noel to certain schools and did not have the player's best interest at heart. Randolph, until recently, had a link on his LinkedIn page to the web site of a prominent sports agency.

While those are certainly sufficient red flags to warrant an NCAA inquiry, there's also little reason to believe investigators will find sufficient evidence to jeopardize Noel's eligibility at Kentucky. The lengthy New York Times investigation revealed plenty of fringe figures attempting to latch onto Noel but no concrete evidence either he or an adviser had taken money to steer him to a particular school.

Maybe NCAA investigators will uncover a paper trail or other information they deem to be punishable, but past history suggests that's unlikely. And if that's the case, this investigation will be long forgotten by the time Noel dons a blue jersey at Rupp Arena for the first time next winter.

Dorian Finney-SmithIf Virginia Tech hoped to keep its current roster intact with its surprising decision to hire former assistant James Johnson as its new coach, then that strategy doesn't seem to have been effective so far.

Top recruit Montrezl Harrell remains undecided about whether to enroll at Virginia Tech as planned next year or ask for his release. And now comes reports from the Daily Press and the Virginian Pilot that talented freshman forward Dorian Finney-Smith intends to transfer to another school.

Finney-Smith, the most coveted recruit to sign with Virginia Tech during Seth Greenberg's tenure, endured a challenging freshman season in which he struggled to score consistently enough. He averaged only 6.3 points per game, shot a team-low 36.6 percent and missed 25 straight shots during one three-week stretch in ACC play.

The Daily Press report indicates the two-time Virginia state player of the year had been mulling a transfer for months, but the recent coaching turnover could not have helped. Not only was Greenberg fired last month, the assistant primarily responsible for recruiting Finney-Smith, John Richardson, returned to Blaine Taylor's staff at Old Dominion.

If indeed Finney-Smith does leave Virginia Tech, it's a significant blow to the Hokies' hopes of making the NCAA tournament next season. The 6-foot-8 forward may not have met expecations offensively last season, but his athleticism and length made him a factor on the glass and defensively and gave him a high ceiling longterm.

It's unclear where Finney-Smith might be interested in transferring if he does leave, but Old Dominion would seem to be an obvious candidate. In addition to Richardson being back there, Finney-Smith's brother Ben Finney also had a successful career playing for the Monarchs.

By Joel Pett of the Lexington Herald Leader

Apparently tired of selling newspapers to the legions of Kentucky fans in their market, the Lexington Herald-Leader published an incendiary cartoon in Tuesday's edition blasting coach John Calipari.

Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonist Joel Pett drew "Coach Cal's Trophy Shelf" with a dollar sign-laden 2012 national championship trophy and empty spaces for his vacated Final Four appearances at UMass and Memphis. Pett also references the recent flap over Calipari insisting on not playing Indiana at campus sites anymore by including a "Lose at IU, take my ball and go home award."

The cartoon not surprisingly has drawn the ire of many Kentucky fans, some of whom are even calling for a boycott of both the paper and the companies who advertise in it. Wrote one Kentucky Sports Radio commenter: "I don't have a HL subscription, but I'm going to call and cancel anyways."

Whether the Herald-Leader made the proper decision publishing Pett's cartoon or not depends on whether it's viewed from a business or journalistic perspective.

There's no doubt the Herald-Leader alienated a percentage of its readership, a very risky move considering the sobering state of the newspaper industry these days. Outrage from Kentucky fans was inevitable because of the timing of the cartoon and the gratuitous shots it takes at a coach who just delivered the Wildcats' eighth national title last month.

At the same time, the Herald-Leader deserves credit for not censoring a cartoonist in his 28th year at the paper just because the opinion he expressed in his work will be unpopular. A columnist or cartoonist should be able to express political opinions without fear they'll be censored by a right- or left-wing leaning editor or publisher. The principle here is the same even though the subject matter is far more frivolous. 

Whether it's Terrence Jones signing a pregnant woman's stomach or Eloy Vargas being asked to a high school prom, autograph signings have been eventful for Kentucky players this spring.

Anthony Davis got a glimpse of that Monday night when he too signed an unusual piece of memorabilia.

Yahoo! Sports Minute has the footage of baby Aiden, the infant son of a Louisville couple who posed for a photo almost identical to a poster Kentucky printed of Davis early in his freshman season. Both hearken back to the classic Michael Jordan WINGS poster every Chicago-area kid had on his wall in the early 1990s.

Davis clearly got a chuckle out of autographing the poster based on his tweet.

"My lil man Aiden in Lville is already a promotional genius!" Davis wrote. "Look for him to be takin over #BBN in the near future!"

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Gavin Smith went missing Tuesday. Anyone with information can call (323) 890-5500.Gavin Smith has always been a responsible, caring father, so the former UCLA basketball player's eldest son immediately knew something was wrong Wednesday afternoon when his dad started behaving out of character.

Evan Smith became uneasy when his younger brother called to say their dad never picked him up from school. He became even more worried when someone from Fox Studios notified the family Gavin hadn't shown up for work. And his panic level continued to rise that night the longer Gavin didn't answer his phone.

Six days have now passed since Evan's father went missing, but the USC forward refuses to give up hope that his dad will turn up safe. Gavin Smith, 57, was last seen Tuesday night driving a black 2000 Mercedes 420 in his neighborhood about 30 miles northwest of Los Angeles.

"This is like a bad movie," Evan Smith said Monday. "It's surreal. Nobody ever would think it would be my dad who would go missing. But my family is staying strong, staying together. We're just trying to weather the storm and find my dad."

Authorities so far haven't discovered any leads in Gavin Smith's disappearance, so family members are doing whatever they can to help. They've hired private detectives, tracked Gavin's credit card usage, put up fliers with his face throughout Los Angeles and even taken to social media in an effort to get the word out.

This past weekend, Evan began tweeting friends, reporters and even USC quarterback Matt Barkley in hopes of publicizing the story of his dad's disappearance so more people would be on the lookout. The grass roots effort seems to be working considering local and national outlets have picked up the story and Evan conducted interviews with "E! News" and "Good Morning America" on Monday.

Jordan Clarkson (Getty Images)Instead of visiting a handful of schools this week as he originally planned, Tulsa transfer Jordan Clarkson needed to see just one firsthand to make his selection.

The sophomore guard checked out Missouri this past weekend and accepted a scholarship offer on Monday afternoon, his father Mike Clarkson confirmed. The younger Clarkson had also received interest from UCLA, Illinois, Duke Arizona, among others.

What persuaded Clarkson to cancel his travel plans was the connection he established with Missouri's players and coaches and the appeal of the Tigers' up-tempo system. Point guard Phil Pressey, a fellow Texas native and longtime friend of Clarkson's, raved about his experience playing under Missouri coach Frank Haith and urged the 6-foot-4 wing to consider joining him.

"Jordan had a lot of talks with Phil about Missouri's style of play," Mike Clarkson said. "Jordan is more effective in the open court when you're running. He can play any style of basketball, but that's more conducive to what he likes to do, getting up and down and using his speed and agility. I think he looked at that really closely and that swayed him to pick Missouri."

The addition of Clarkson further cements Haith's reputation for being able to attract top transfers to Missouri. Among the other notable transfers Haith has landed in the past 12 months include UConn center Alex Oriakhi, Oregon wing Jabari Brown, Pepperdine guard Keion Bell and Auburn swingman Earnest Ross.

Clarkson, who averaged 16.5 points, 3.9 rebounds and 2.5 assists as a sophomore at Tulsa, will not be eligible to play at Missouri until the 2013-14 season. He'll be part of a potentially potent Tigers backcourt in the 2013-14 season that could include Brown, Ross, Pressey and true freshman Travis Jorgenson if nobody leaves early next spring. 

Trent Lockett (US Presswire)Since Arizona State has been a doormat the past two seasons at a time when the Pac-12 has fallen behind its major conference peers, few outside of Tempe know much about the best player on those Sun Devils teams.

As a result, Trent Lockett's announcement Saturday that he'll attend Marquette for his senior season didn't receive nearly the attention it should have.

Lockett, a 6-foot-4 guard who will be eligible immediately at Marquette, averaged more than 13 points per game and shot 50 percent or better from the field each of the past two seasons for the slow-paced Sun Devils. What's more, Lockett was an asset in other facets of the game last season as a result of his length and athleticism, grabbing 5.8 rebounds per game and posting 1.5 steals per game despite Arizona State's reliance on zone defense.

What Lockett did best at Arizona State was attacking the rim off the dribble. He attempted only 51 3-pointers as a junior, but he showed a knack for finishing at the rim, getting to the free throw line or sinking a mid-range jump shot.

It would benefit Marquette if Lockett can consistently knock down a 3-pointer next year, but his presence might make the Golden Eagles a top 25 team once again even if he isn't a threat from behind the arc.

Lockett should help Marquette weather the loss of all-league seniors Darius Johnson-Odom and Jae Crowder both offensively and defensively. He'll likely start at wing alongside point guard Junior Cadougan, enabling Buzz Williams to bring either Todd Mayo or Vander Blue off the bench.