(AP)

Mike Rice's mistreatment of Rutgers basketball players not only cost him his reputation and job it also cost him $625,000 in salary he was owed by the school.

The Star-Ledger reports Rutgers and Rice have reached a settlement on a separation agreement in which the school will pay Rice $475,000 of the $1.1 million that was remaining on his contract at the time he was fired earlier this month.

Rice was initially suspended and fine $50,000 by the school for three games in December in response to allegations of mistreatment, but videos from Rutgers practices surfaced last month showing Rice hitting, kicking and pushing players and also shouting homophobic slurs at them. The outrage over the videos led the school to fire him.

(USA Today Sports Images)

There is nothing positive about suffering a ghastly injury during a nationally televised NCAA tournament game, but it's nice to see some doing what they can to ease Louisville guard Kevin Ware's pain.

CNN is the latest to offer Ware a unique opportunity in the wake of the compound fracture he suffered to his lower leg March 31 in an Elite Eight win over Duke. Ware has been invited to the April 27 White House Correspondents' Association dinner in Washington D.C. as a guest of the network.

(USA Today Sports Images)The lure of big money from the NBA continues to rob college basketball of its best young talent, and understandably so. But the college game won one Thursday when Michigan State freshman Gary Harris decided to remain in school for another year.

Harris was the first Michigan State player in history to win the Big Ten Conference Freshman of the Year award after averaging 13 points a game and being named the team's most valuable player.

"Playing in the NBA is definitely a goal of mine, and something that I've always dreamed of, but those dreams can wait for another day," Harris said in a press release from the school. "I think additional experience and maturity will be huge in my development as a player. I have other dreams of things I want to accomplish, both as a player and as a team at Michigan State. I love college life, and I'm no hurry to move on."

(USA Today Sports Images)

Notre Dame power forward Jack Cooley called his girlfriend to the stage at the end of his senior speech during the basketball team's senior banquet Wednesday night and dropped to one knee to propose.

Several of Cooley's teammates, including guard Eric Adkins, had their cell phones ready to record the moment, which ended with Jackie Oberlander saying yes. Click the link below to see the video.

vine.co/v/bUaYLb6K9LD

— Eric Atkins (@EAtkins0) April 18, 2013

Cooley was one of four seniors who said their goodbyes during "An Evening with Notre Dame basketball" at Purcell Pavilion. He admitted later that his teammates, coaches and even his fiance knew ahead of time what he had planned.

"She told me that she wanted it public and recorded," Cooley told South Bend Tribune reporter Tom Noie. "She wanted me to do it around Senior Night but I had to focus on the game. "I was running out of opportunities to do it in front of crowds like this so I just thought I would do it now."

Cooley was a

(USA Today Sports Images)

Arizona forward Grant Jerrett has NBA potential but nothing about his freshman season in Tucson appears to indicate he's ready to make that jump.

Yet, the 6-foot-10 product of Chino Hills, Calif., has decided to turn pro after a freshman season in which he averaged just 5.2 points a game and 3.6 rebounds. Those are not the numbers of a first-round pick, and if Jerrett isn't going to be a first-round selection, why go now?

Jerrett's decision is one of the big head-scratchers in recent memory. He is coming off a season in which he wasn't always heavily involved for the Wildcats. He started two of the 34 games in which he played and averaged 18 minutes a game.

“Today, with the support of my family, I made the decision to enter the 2013 NBA Draft and pursue my lifelong dream of playing professional basketball,” Jerrett said in press release from the school late Wednesday night. “I would like to thank all Wildcat fans, my teammates and coaches for making my year in Tucson an incredible

Oklahoma State guard Marcus Smart received applause and a huge cheer from fans, boosters and fellow students when he announced Wednesday he is staying in school for his sophomore season.

Smart was the national Freshman of the Year and the Big 12 Conference Player of the Year this season and his return could make the Cowboys the favorite in the Big 12 next season. No wonder they're so excited in Stillwater.

Tim Hardaway Jr. (AP)

Michigan advanced to the national championship game this season despite being the youngest team in the NCAA tournament. Any possibility of the Wolverines playing for the title for a second straight season next year just became less likely with Tim Hardaway Jr. announcing he is leaving for the NBA.

Hardaway was named a first-team All-Big Ten guard this season and helped lead the Wolverines back to the Final Four for the first time in 20 years. It's not a bad list of accomplishments for the son of former NBA All-Star Tim Hardaway, but he likely would have been able to add much more to it had he returned.

Hardaway is taking a bit of gamble. He is not considered a surefire first-round draft pick. In fact, the majority of mock drafts across the Internet project him as a second-round pick right now.

Joe Dooley (Kansas athletics)

Florida Gulf Coast could have made a coaching change in its men's basketball program a year ago at this time and it hardly would have been noticed.

But on the heels of an historic run to the Sweet 16 as a No. 15 seed in the NCAA tournament and former coach Andy Enfield being hired by USC in the Pac-12, its suddenly national news that the school has found the third coach in the program's history.

FGCU athletic director Ken Kavanagh announced he hired Kansas assistant coach Joe Dooley on Wednesday to take over a team that was among the most fun to watch in the postseason last month and became synonymous with the Twitter hashtag #DunkCity!.