Andrew Wiggins (Getty Images)Kansas fans eager for their first glimpse of Andrew Wiggins playing against anyone besides high school competition will have to wait until November.

The early front runner to go No. 1 overall in the 2014 NBA draft has passed on the chance to play for Canada at the U-19 World Championships in Prague next month. He'll instead spend his summer focusing on what's likely to be his lone season at Kansas.

“At 18 years old, Andrew has a long basketball career ahead of him. Andrew’s decision to prepare himself this summer for the upcoming season is a decision we acknowledge," Canada Basketball assistant general manager Rowan Barrett said in a statement. "Our team will miss Andrew this summer, but we remain focused on Andrew's long-term development and our organizational goals for the Rio 2016 Olympic Games and beyond."

Wiggins' decision not to play for his country this summer comes as a disappointment to Canadian basketball fans, but he's hardly alone in making preparation for the college season a priority.

None of Kentucky's heralded incoming freshmen are trying out for the U.S. team, nor is prized Duke recruit Jabari Parker. In fact, Arizona-bound Aaron Gordon was the lone top 20 Class of 2013 recruit who chose to try out for the U.S. U-19 team and the only other incoming freshmen on the roster are Arizona's Rondae Hollis-Jefferson, Washington's Nigel Williams-Goss and UCLA's Bryce Alford.

Nonetheless, the decision by Wiggins draws greater scrutiny in Canada since he is the nation's premier young player. Not only did he help lead Canada to a bronze medal at the U-18 Americas tournament last summer to secure a berth in the U-19 World Championships, his name had also been listed on the Canadian U-19 roster prior to this weekend's announcement.

Charlie Coles (Getty Images)

When Charlie Coles awoke in a hospital bed in Kalamazoo, Mich. hours after suffering a near-fatal heart attack during the first half of a 1998 MAC tournament game, the Miami (Ohio) coach's first concern wasn't his health.

He gestured for a nurse to get him a pen and paper and scratched out the question, "Did we win?"

Stories like that of Coles' competitiveness and sense of humor are what his friends and colleagues in the basketball industry will remember most about him. Coles, Miami's all-time leader in career wins, died Friday morning at age 71, the school announced. No cause of death was reported immediately, but Coles had a long history of heart issues.

To provide a window into Coles' colorful wit and fierce competitiveness, I spoke to the greatest player he coached at Miami (Ohio). Wally Szczerbiak reflected on Coles' sense of humor, the time the coach nearly died on the floor and on the 1999 Sweet 16 run that landed Miami (Ohio) on the cover of Sports Illustrated.

JE: I'll start with the obvious question first. Give me your reaction to hearing that Charlie passed away this morning?

WS: It was a shock. It was very unexpected. Charlie had just retired a year ago and he had been doing really well. It was no secret he had some heart issues he was battling through. I don't know all the details, but he was a big part of my college career and he was a great coach and a great person. He'll be sorely missed.

P.J. Hairston (USA Today Sports Images)As more details emerge from Wednesday night's arrest of North Carolina forward P.J. Hairston, the potential consequences continue to grow more dire.

A 9-millimeter handgun and a magazine with nine rounds of ammunition were found on the ground outside the vehicle Hairston was driving when Durham police pulled him over at a checkpoint, according to multiple reports. It's unclear which of the three men in the car owned the handgun if any of them, but the implication is one of them may have attempted to dispose of the weapon as the vehicle approached the checkpoint.

Hairston and the other two men in the vehicle were arrested for possession of marijuana, and the North Carolina forward was also cited for driving without a license. The police report released Friday revealed officers found 43.2 grams of marijuana in the car in two separate plastic baggies.

If the possession of marijuana is the only charge levied against Hairston, North Carolina likely wouldn't have reason to make his punishment more severe than a brief suspension. Gun charges would surely complicate things, however, and perhaps even put his standing with the university in jeopardy.

North Carolina cannot afford to lose Hairston for an extended period next season since his return is one of the biggest reasons the Tar Heels are likely to begin the season in the top 10 in most polls.

Hairston averaged a team-high 14.6 points per game as a sophomore, sparking North Carolina's late-season surge when he moved into the starting lineup midway through ACC play. He averaged 18.2 points during the Tar Heels' final 13 games, playing so well that he briefly considered entering the NBA draft this spring before announcing in mid-April that he'd return to school for his junior season.

Dion Wiley (Rivals.com)If one of the major criticisms of Gary Williams late in his Maryland tenure was his inability to land enough of the D.C. area's elite prospects, then the greatest achievement of the new Terps staff thus far has to be its success reversing that trend.

Coach Mark Turgeon again showcased his ability to secure top local talent on Friday, landing a commitment from elite shooting guard prospect Dion Wiley of Potomac High School in Maryland. Wiley, a consensus top 50 prospect in the class of 2014, chose the Terrapins over the likes of Indiana, Florida Georgetown and Texas.

"At the end of the day, the kid liked the relationship he had with Coach Turgeon and Coach Dalonte Hill and the whole staff, really," Team Takeover coach Keith Stevens said. "Dion is one of those kids that doesn't like all the attention. He felt a comfort level there, he felt like those guys can get him better and he felt like that was the best place for him. He saw no reason to let it linger on."

Whereas Williams had a notoriously tepid relationship with D.C.-area AAU programs and won despite not landing many of their top prospects, Turgeon has made it a priority from day one to keep local talent home. He kept well-connected Bino Ransom on his staff as the lone holdover from the Williams regime and plucked Washington D.C. native and former D.C. Assault head coach Dalonte Hill away from Kansas State.

The results in the class of 2013 and 2014 have been especially encouraging so far.

Turgeon's two incoming freshmen for next season are highly touted point guard Roddy Peters and center Damonte Dodd, both of whom played AAU ball for the DC Assault. In addition to Wiley, Turgeon has also already landed promising combo guard Romelo Trimble of the DC Assault for his 2014 class.

Mike Dixon (Getty Images)

As Memphis fans debate whether coach Josh Pastner took an unnecessary risk adding Michael Dixon to the roster earlier this week, one of the ex-Missouri stars close friends defended his former teammate.

Detroit Pistons guard Kim English, who played three seasons with Dixon at Missouri, told 92.9 FM ESPN in Memphis that the combo guard is ready to repair a reputation tarnished by two accusations of sexual assault. Dixon wasn't charged in either instance, but the allegations were enough for Missouri to dismiss him from the team last fall and for some Memphis fans to feel a bit squeamish about giving him a second chance.

[Related: Is Memphis' recruiting class 'way better' than Kentucky's?]

"He's a great guy," English told the radio station. "He was young. He was in a fun college town and he had a lot of fun, but now he understands the line he can't cross. You're a step away from being a professional. You can't party as much, and you learn that through college.

"We all partied a lot as freshman, and less as sophomores, less as juniors and less as seniors. Mike Dixon had a great time at Missouri, as we all did, but now he understands how important it is to be a productive citizen as well as a productive student-athlete."

Since Dixon has yet to speak publicly about the accusations he faced or the pain of being dismissed from Missouri, English's interview was especially compelling. The former Missouri guard noted the Boone County district attorney never so much as spoke to Dixon because the evidence was so thin and expressed disappointment that his alma mater was so quick to jettison Dixon.

"It's been rough for him," English said. "Some parents take a cell phone away from their kid and they'll be upset or unplug their video games or TV, but Mike was the type of kid that if his parents really wanted to hit him hard, they'd say he couldn't go to an AAU event or to basketball practice. Him being away from basketball, I know it really made him understand how much it is a privilege to be a Division I basketball player. I know he's going to do everything in his power to not put himself in any situations where he'll have to go through a season like he did this year."

Marquette and Ohio State players scramble to dry off the court at last year's Carrier Classic (Getty Images)

Despite heavy rain delaying tipoff of their game aboard the USS Midway for two days last November and gusts of wind wreaking havoc on outside shooting, San Diego State's Steve Fisher and Syracuse's Jim Boeheim both expressed hope there would be more Veteran's Day weekend aircraft carrier games in the future.

For right now, however, it appears they may not get their wish.

Morale Entertainment's Mike Whalen, whose company staged the inaugural Carrier Classic in 2011 and two other games last year, said Thursday he does not intend to hold a basketball game on a ship this November. A spokesman for the Patriots Point Naval and Maritime Museum said there are no plans to play a game on the USS Yorktown this year, while USS Midway Museum officials said there will be no Battle on the Midway sequel either.

"Hosting the SDSU-Syracuse game last year was a huge source of pride for both the USS Midway Museum and San Diego," USS Midway Museum marketing director Scott McGaugh said. "We also experienced firsthand the logistical challenges and oceanfront weather variables that make the concept difficult to reliably execute. So we've decided to take a year and evaluate various options based on our first year's experience."

Unless there's another party who makes a late push to try to set up a game, it appears the trend of games on ships will go on hiatus next season, probably a wise idea considering the weather issues that plagued last year's set of games.

One didn't start: The Nov. 9 matchup between Ohio State and Marquette was canceled about an hour after it was supposed to tip off because condensation made the court aboard the USS Yorktown too slick. Another didn't finish: Organizers called the game between Florida and Georgetown at halftime that same night because the floor aboard the USS Bataan had also become too wet.

P.J. Hairston (Getty Images)

On the heels of a breakout sophomore season in which he emerged as North Carolina's most consistent scorer, junior P.J. Hairston is dealing with some unexpected off-the-court trouble.

Durham police stopped Hairston at a checkpoint Wednesday night and arrested him for possession of a small amount of marijuana, ABC11 News in Raleigh reported Thursday morning. Hairston was also cited for driving without a license.

It's too soon to project if Hairston will face suspension or other penalties from North Carolina as a result of his arrest, but the fact that it's his first known offense should work in his favor. North Carolina spokesman Steve Kirschner told the TV station the school is aware of the situation and may comment further after gathering more information.

Hairston averaged a team-high 14.6 points per game as a sophomore, sparking North Carolina's late-season surge when he moved into the starting lineup midway through ACC play. He averaged 18.2 points during the Tar Heels' final 13

Dayton and Xavier won't play next season for the first time in nearly 70 years (USATSI)

Even though Xavier released its schedule Tuesday without longtime rival Dayton on it for the first time in 68 years, it doesn't sound like the hiatus is likely to last too long.

Dayton coach Archie Miller said Wednesday he's optimistic the two schools will start a non-league series in the near future now that the Musketeers are moving to the new Big East and the Flyers are remaining for now in the Atlantic 10.

"Due to Xavier's league switch and non-conference scheduling conflicts, this upcoming season was impossible," Miller said via text message. "We hope there is a future and I think they are open to it as well. I obviously can't speak for Xavier though."

A Xavier spokesman didn't immediately return an email seeking comment, but Miller's comments are a positive sign this rivalry isn't likely to go the way of others killed off by conference realignment. Kansas will not schedule Missouri after the Tigers left for the SEC, Duke won't play Big Ten-bound Maryland after this season and Syracuse and Georgetown have yet to commit to a non-league series.

The series between Xavier and Dayton may not be quite as nationally relevant as those, but there's plenty of history between the two longtime foes. They've faced one-another at least once a year since the 1945-46 season, with the Musketeers winning 28 straight at home in the series but the Flyers boasting a 13-6 home record since the teams joined the Atlantic 10 in 1996.

It's understandable the two schools couldn't find a date that worked for the 2013-14 season since both already had scheduling commitments and the Big East's 18-game schedule reduced Xavier's number of non-league games by two. Nonetheless, hopefully Miller is right and the game becomes a staple of both schools' non-league schedules the way Xavier-Cincinnati is.