Walter McCarty's school ring (via eBay)

UPDATE: Brooks Downing, president of the sports agency firm BD Global, tweeted Monday that Walter McCarty's rings are for sale as a result of a "misunderstanding with a family member and that the former Kentucky star is working diligently to get them back."

A voicemail left for Downing on Monday evening seeking further details was not immediately returned.

Walter McCarty's NCAA ring (via eBay)

When members of Kentucky's 1996 championship team received rings from the school on Feb. 28 to commemorate their national title, former Wildcats forward Walter McCarty was one of the most vocal about what the honor meant to him.

"Any excuse we can have to get together, it’s awesome,” McCarty told Central Kentucky News that day. "We have had a tremendous time here. Getting the ring and walking on that court again in front of Big Blue Nation was awesome."

McCarty's comments make it more surprising that his new ring and the one he received from the NCAA 17 years ago are both apparently up for sale. A photo of them at a Boston pawn shop surfaced this weekend and both are being listed on eBay, the NCAA ring selling for $3,400 and the school ring for $5,200.

Why would a player who spent 10 seasons in the NBA and three as an assistant coach at Louisville be selling his rings? It's easy to jump to the conclusion he needs the money given how many professional athletes have gone broke in recent years, but we certainly don't know that for sure.

Deandre Kane (Getty Images)Whether it was staggering through a disappointing 13-19 season last year or being pushed out the door by coach Tom Herrion in April, DeAndre Kane's career at Marshall didn't end the way he hoped.

Kane has found a way to salvage his reputation in Huntington, however, by writing a thank you letter to the city's newspaper.

In an eloquent letter published in Sunday's edition of the Times-Dispatch, Kane called Huntington his "second home" and said he will miss the town even though he's looking forward to a fresh start. The Pittsburgh native will finish his career at Iowa State after three all-league seasons for the Thundering Herd.

"I used to always think that basketball was everything, but after working with my teachers, coaches, and new family here in Huntington, I now realize that life is much more," Kane wrote.

"I know that things didn't end here the way I wanted them to and I apologize for not leading the team to the NCAA Tournament because this city deserves it. What I do promise though is to bring something back to this community better than a basketball championship -- hope and fun for the kids. Whether I play pro basketball or just become a business man, I'll continue to contribute to the youth in this area once I get my career.

Sheldon McClellan (Getty Images)

Losing its six leading scorers from last year's ACC championship team has been beneficial for Miami in at least one respect.

It has made the Hurricanes an attractive destination for transfers this offseason.

First, former all-conference Kansas State point guard Angel Rodriguez joined Miami in hopes of becoming the heir apparent to Shane Larkin. Next, ex-DePaul big man Donnavan Kirk chose the Hurricanes because they have ample frontcourt playing time available. And finally, late Sunday night Miami added another coveted transfer.

Guard Sheldon McClellan, who would have been Texas' leading returning scorer had he remained with the Longhorns, chose Miami over Oregon, Marquette and LSU, ESPN.com reported. Whereas Kirk will be eligible immediately and Rodriguez is petitioning for a waiver that would allow him to play next season too, McClellan will sit out the 2013-14 season and make his Hurricanes debut the following year.

There's a good chance McClellan will be worth the wait for Miami.

McClellan had to shoulder too great a scoring burden on a Texas team that didn't have Myck Kabongo for the first 23 games of this past season, but the 6-foot-4 sophomore still showed flashes of the potential that made him a top 50 recruit. He averaged 13.5 points per game for the Longhorns during a difficult season that ended well short of NCAA tournament contention.

Kevin Ware and Brianna BoelWhen a car crashed into 14-year-old Brianna Boel as she was crossing a busy Louisville intersection on Wednesday, she fractured her skull, broke one of her wrists and snapped two bones in one of her legs.

At first, John Boel was at a loss as he attempted to comfort his daughter prior to her surgery to repair her mangled wrist and leg. Then the WAVE 3 anchor asked Brianna to remember the courage Louisville guard Kevin Ware showed after he suffered a similarly gruesome broken leg in the first half of the Cardinals' Elite Eight game against Duke.

"I asked her to remember Kevin Ware, his break, how bad it was, how fast he was up on the sideline, and how he's already back shooting," Boel said via email. "She perked right up, that all clicked, and she immediately seemed more calm about what lied ahead."

If the conversation about Ware brought a smile to Brianna's face, imagine how much more inspired she became when he showed up in her room at Kosair Children's Hospital that evening.

A friend of John's saw his Facebook post about Brianna drawing strength from Ware's story and relayed the story to Ware via social media. Ware contacted the WAVE 3 newsroom soon afterward and asked John's permission to come visit with Brianna at the hospital.

"He was here within an hour, so soon that she was barely out of surgery and was in a lot of pain," John said. "He was so sweet to her that she was smiling for the first time in days."

Donte Hill and former Old Dominion coach Blaine Taylor (USA Today Sports Images)

Donte Hill chose not to participate in senior night festivities at Old Dominion last March because the 6-foot-4 guard was optimistic he'd win his petition this offseason and receive another full year of eligibility.

On Thursday, he learned never to assume common sense will prevail when the NCAA is involved.

NCAA officials denied Hill's petition, ruling that the eight minutes he played in a closed-door preseason scrimmage in 2010 counted as an entire season of eligibility. Hill did not play again in the 2010-11 season, transferring from Clemson to Old Dominion soon after the scrimmage and sitting out the rest of the year.

Newly hired Old Dominion coach Jeff Jones said Clemson officials told him they informed Hill he was risking an entire year of eligibility by transferring after the scrimmage, but Hill told Jones he was unaware until afterward. Regardless, barring a change of heart from the NCAA, Hill will not be allowed to play for Old Dominion next season and his college career is over.

"Donte was clearly disappointed, but I think he had at least to some degree come to grips that this was the most likely outcome," Jones said. "I feel bad for him. He's a very nice young man. He's done a great job in the classroom. Everyone at ODU I've talked to, talks about his character and his leadership. It's tough. It would have been great if the outcome had been different."

The bylaw in question states that "any competition, regardless of time, during a season in an intercollegiate sport shall be counted as a season of competition in that sport." The NCAA makes an exception for true freshmen, but Hill was beginning his sophomore season at Clemson when he participated in the scrimmage.

One of the four court designs Memphis fans can select (via Memphis athletics)

Memphis will definitely have a new floor design next season when it begins play in the American Athletic Conference.

Which design the Tigers adopt, however, won't be known for several weeks.

Memphis fans have until June 24 to offer input by voting on the school's athletics site for one of four potential floor designs. One features a silhouette of the Memphis skyline across the width of the floor. Another has an image of the iconic Hernando de Soto Bridge. A third includes both the bridge and the skyline. And a fourth is just a plain, traditional floor.

"We are excited about getting input from our fans on the new design for the Tigers' basketball court at FedExForum," Memphis athletic director Tom Bowen said in a statement. "Our fans are as passionate as any in the country, and this allows them the opportunity to take part in the design process."

Assuming Memphis adopts either the bridge or the skyline, it will be the latest program to add some creativity to its basketball court. From Oregon's fir tree-framed court, to Long Beach State's palm trees, to Florida International's beach scene, to George Washington's D.C. monuments, schools are making sure their courts stand out as their own when TV viewers see them.

It's unclear which design is leading the official fan voting, but an unofficial poll on a Collegiate Sports Nation Memphis forum has the design with both the bridge and skyline with almost 50 percent of the votes.

Isiah Thomas (Getty Images)

One day after the NCAA announced Florida International will be ineligible for the 2013-14 postseason due to poor Academic Progress Rate scores, former coach Isiah Thomas defended himself against accusations he's at fault.

Thomas penned a Huffington Post blog entry in which he emphasized that he repeatedly stressed the importance of education to his players during his three-year tenure at FIU from 2009 to 2012. He also noted that some of FIU's APR problems stem from the transfer of seven scholarship players in protest of his firing last year.

"This had the biggest effect on FIU's APR, not grades but retention," Thomas wrote. "In fact, many of the students who wanted to transfer were told that they would not be given their releases because it would affect FIU's APR. Seven scholarship students left in anger without getting a release, thus plummeting the APR score.

"That is the explanation of FIU's APR and current NCAA ban from post-season play, but it is not an examination of my record with the school's players. Of the 21 players I worked with, I am very proud to say that 19 of those young men graduated."

Thomas' blog post comes one day after Garcia appeared to pin the blame on him with a thinly veiled statement defending current coach Anthony Evans and Thomas' successor, Richard Pitino. Said Garcia, "It’s important to understand that the student-athletes and coaches who are serving this postseason ban had no part in the actions which led to the punishment."

That statement is certainly true, but there's also some merit to Thomas' point as well.

Chris Walker was the McDonald's All-American slam dunk champ (USATSI)Unlike most incoming freshmen basketball players who are already enrolled in summer classes, Florida's Chris Walker has yet to make it to campus.

In fact, there's still some question if the 6-foot-9 forward will be academically eligible to don a Gators uniform at all next season.

Walker, Rivals.com's No. 6 prospect in the class of 2013, has yet to achieve a qualifying ACT score and is still taking three online courses to finish his core requirements, his high school coach told the Gainesville Sun earlier this week. NCAA initial eligibility is based on a sliding scale combining test scores and GPA in core courses, but the minimum GPA required is a 2.0 and the minimum ACT score is a 37.

"He’s a little frustrated, but he knows in order to live out his childhood dream that he needs to keep working hard at it," Bonifay coach Poe White told the Sun. "If he doesn’t make it, it won’t be for a lack of trying."

It sounds as though the best-case scenario for Florida would be if Walker achieved a qualifying ACT score on his most recent attempt and finishes his online classes by the end of June. That would enable him to enroll in the second summer session at Florida and begin building chemistry with his teammates and participating in individual and team workouts.

Florida appeared to be a near-certain top 10 team once Patric Young opted to return for his senior season but Walker's eligibility issues and point guard Scottie Wilbekin's indefinite suspension calls that into question.