It's not unusual for prospects to acknowledge they regret leaving college early after the NBA Draft, but former Mississippi State point guard Dee Bost is one of the few willing to admit it beforehand.

According to the Jackson Clarion Ledger, Bost has re-enrolled at classes at Mississippi State and plans to ask the NCAA for reinstatement even though he did not remove his name from the draft by the May 8 deadline. Presumably Bost had not hired an agent, though the Clarion Ledger report doesn't specify that.

The outcome of Bost's petition will set a significant precedent because he is the first player in his predicament to attempt to regain his eligibility. A ruling in Bost's favor would suggest future players who file similar petitions would receive lenience, but it seems pretty unlikely the NCAA will forgo its rules in this case.

The one advantage Bost may have in his argument is the heavy criticism the NCAA has received for pushing the deadline to withdraw from the draft all the way up

The Big Ten has monopolized most of the headlines the past few months regarding conference expansion chatter, but it looks like the first seismic shift fittingly may originate in California.

According to a report from Chip Brown of Texas-based OrangeBloods.com, the Pac-10 is prepared to strike first at its conference meetings in San Francisco this weekend by offering membership to six Big 12 teams. If Texas, Texas A&M, Texas Tech, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State and Colorado accept, the result would be a 16-team juggernaut spanning the Western half of the United States and including seven of the nation's top 20 TV markets.

Give new Pac-10 commissioner Larry Scott credit for concocting a scenario that could boost his league's TV revenue by 50 to 100 percent, but the school that holds all the power right now is Texas.

If the Longhorns agree to head West, many of the other Big 12 teams would probably join them out of fear of separating from their region's cash cow. If the Longhorns balk, it's

As USC fans nervously await word on how stiff a punishment the NCAA will give their football program on Friday, it's probably a good time to remind the Trojans they have another program on the chopping block.

You remember your basketball program, don't you?

The lingering question facing USC basketball is whether the NCAA can possibly penalize the Trojans further than what they already did themselves for violations involving the recruitment of O.J. Mayo. USC already offered up its basketball program as a sacrificial lamb, forcing Tim Floyd's resignation last year and then removing itself from postseason consideration last season and accepting a self-imposed reduction of scholarships.

It's always difficult to predict how the NCAA will react in situations like this, but the actions of UTEP athletic director Bob Stull suggest the worst may already be behind the Trojans.

UTEP probably wouldn't have hired Floyd earlier this spring without some assurance that he was unlikely to get hit too

It's apparently easier to break out of a maximum security prison these days than it is to escape the DePaul basketball program.

DePaul announced on Wednesday that it will not release incoming freshman Walter Pitchford from his letter of intent as the 6-foot-10 forward requested last week. Pitchford cited Chicago's high crime rate and DePaul's recent coaching change as reasons he wanted out, a request his father said athletic director Jean Lenti Ponsetto initially indicated that she and school president Dennis Holtschneider would grant.

"When the president of the school and athletic director say he should get his release and something else happens, that concerns me a great deal," Walter Pitchford Sr. told ESPN Chicago on Wednesday. "That's where I want to start -- right there with Father Dennis. Because she clearly relayed to me that she had talked to Father Dennis about Walter's situation, and that both of them agreed he should get his release. Now, we're looking at something

If Tony Mitchell is at all concerned that a Dallas school district is investigating the legitimacy of his grades, the highly touted Missouri signee is doing a good job hiding it so far.

Mitchell laughed off a Dallas TV report that he will not be able to enroll at Missouri next season, denying the story to the Kansas City Star via a series of seemingly confident Facebook messages.

"LOL (laughing out loud)," Mitchell replied when asked whether the report meant he could not attend MU. "Naw. I will definitely be at Mizzou. Later on though."

Later on, Mitchell elaborated: "Later On in The summer."

He echoed those sentiments with updates to his public Facebook wall:

"Just Finding Out,," he posted on his public Facebook wall. "Haters These Days.

"LOL Thanks Everyone Who Believes In Me And Is Supportive.

"I will be At mizzou bottom Line They Just Tried To Come At Me In A Wrong Way Without All The Facts But That's How the Media Is."

Mitchell's optimism is somewhat of a surprise because

Most Los Angeles residents would rather brave rush hour on the 405 freeway than root for Boston during the NBA playoffs, but forgive UCLA coach Ben Howland if he fist pumped under the table when the Celtics closed out the Magic last week.

That's because Howland knew a Celtics-Lakers NBA finals meant Boston would practice at Pauley Pavilion this week. And that ensured Howland a little extra face time with Celtics coach Doc Rivers, who just happens to be the father of elite combo guard Austin Rivers, one of UCLA's top recruiting targets in the class of 2011.

The Boston Herald set the scene from Tuesday's Celtics practice:

UCLA coach Ben Howland greeted Rivers when he walked in.

"Great job," he said. "I'm very happy for you."

Then Howland asked about Rivers' son, top recruit Austin, whom he hopes to have by the school this weekend.

Austin Rivers, Rivals.com's top-rated guard in the class of 2011, is in Los Angeles after playing in a Nike AAU event there during Memorial Day Weekend.

As often seems to happen whenever the star-crossed Missouri basketball program seems poised to make an impact at the national level, the Tigers have encountered some unexpected turbulence.

Tony Mitchell, the centerpiece of Missouri's highly touted 2010 recruiting class, will not graduate with his peers this weekend as a result of a school district investigation, a Dallas TV station reported Tuesday.

WFAA-TV says the investigation focuses on the legitimacy of make-up course work the 6-foot-8 forward did after transferring from Center of Life Academy in Miami to Pinkston High in Dallas for his senior year. Fourteen of Mitchell's credits were not transferable because Center of Life's accreditation was not recognized by the Dallas district, but the Pinkston principal allowed him to take nine course make-up exams in a mere two days including five in a two-hour period.

For those curious why the Dallas school district wouldn't recognize Center of Life's accreditation from a home school

North Carolina has identified another reason it failed to meet expectations this past season: Too much free speech!

Maybe that wasn't quite as big a factor as shoddy point guard play, inconsistent outside shooting and too many injuries, but it was important enough for Roy Williams to address the topic with his team on Tuesday. Williams apparently gave players guidelines on what is and isn't acceptable to say on twitter, prompting some grousing from several of the Tar Heels' more prolific tweeters.

"Well,coached just talked to us about twitter and told us we offend some people n what not so this is a farewell to bein' myself," sophomores-to-be John Henson and Dexter Strickland both tweeted Tuesday evening.

Strickland added: "They told me I gotta watch wat I say... so I'm sry if any of my tweets offended anybody that follows me.."

Then Strickland and Henson later tweeted, "Yeah these people be emailin coach n stuff smh...."self expression is a birthright and something you did PRIOR to