Sacred Heart's Shane Gibson averaged 22.0 points and shot 51 percent from the field last year (AP)

Enter the name of college basketball's second-leading returning scorer into a search engine, and the results may come as a surprise.

The first Shane Gibson that pops up is a metal guitarist. The second Shane Gibson is a politician in the Bahamas. And the third Shane Gibson is a little-known author and social media strategist.

It gnaws at Shane Gibson No. 4 that he hasn't received more national recognition for scoring an efficient 22.0 points per game as a junior last season, but the Sacred Heart guard knows he has the power to change that. If he can not only build on last season's output but also transform Sacred Heart into a winner, he'll have a much better chance of earning league player of the year honors, making All-America teams or hearing his name called on NBA draft day.

"I think I'd probably have gotten more recognition last year if we had won some more games," Gibson said. "I've watched other guys and I've seen the attention they're getting, and I'm just like, 'Are they not seeing the numbers I'm putting up over here?' Hopefully with more team success, some of that comes this year."

Although it would be a surprise if Gibson can lead Sacred Heart to its first-ever Northeast Conference title or first-ever NCAA bid, the 6-foot-2 senior has a better chance this season than any of his previous years in the program. The Pioneers return four starters and their top two reserves from a team that went 14-18 overall and 8-10 in the NEC last season.

To give Sacred Heart the best chance to move up in the standings, Gibson has focused on improving his all-around game. He has strengthened his legs in the weight room this offseason to give himself more stamina on defense late in games. He also plans to expend more energy attacking the glass and to do a better job setting up his teammates, especially when double-teams come.

Jamal Olasewere is one of three suspended LIU Brooklyn starters (US Presswire)

Yahoo! Sports is breaking down each league for the upcoming college basketball season working backward from No. 31 to No. 1. Here's a look at our No. 23 league, the NEC.

For the past 10 years, the Northeast Conference's NCAA tournament representative has always received either a No. 15 or No. 16 seed.

Next March may be the league's best chance to escape those dreaded seed lines.

Not only will the league return seven of the 10 players who earned first- or second-team honors last season, the top three teams in the conference will also stay mostly intact.

LIU Brooklyn will be the favorite to reach the NCAA tournament for the third consecutive season if a fight at an on-campus party last month doesn't derail the Blackbirds' season before it begins. Reigning NEC player of the year Julian Boyd and fellow starters C.J. Garner and Jamal Olasewere were among the four players charged with third-degree assault and suspended indefinitely from the program as a result of the skirmish.

Assuming those players are cleared to return, LIU Brooklyn would return five of its six leading scorers from last year's 25-win team. Boyd receives the most attention because of his efficiency as a scorer and his formidable rebounding, but Olasewere is an ultra-athletic forward and point guard Jason Brickman is the rare player happier setting up teammates than shooting himself.

Lance Thomas (Getty Images)Ex-Duke forward Lance Thomas' first public comments on his infamous 2009 jewelry purchase didn't shed any light on how a college senior could afford to make a $30,000 down payment on $97,800 worth of diamond necklaces, earrings and watches.

Asked at New Orleans Hornets media day on Monday whether he violated NCAA rules, Thomas told the Durham Herald Sun, "No. I don't think so." Thomas then declined to elaborate further, adding only that "everything will unfold once everything is taken care of the right way."

Thomas' jewelry purchase first became public knowledge last month when a New York jeweler sued him for failing to pay the final $67,800 of his bill. The lawsuit made headlines nationwide because it pulled the curtains back on a potential infractions case seemingly capable of jeopardizing Duke's 2010 national title.

It's not surprising Thomas would choose not to go into detail about the purchase since he signed a confidentiality agreement as part of the settlement he and the jeweler reached last month. Furthermore, the NCAA has no subpoena power and no way of forcing him to cooperate now that he is no longer at Duke.

At the same time, Thomas should know his silence comes with a price. Questions will plague both him and the Duke program until he can satisfactorily answer how a college senior from a single-parent home had $30,000 to use on a down payment for jewelry or how he persuaded a jeweler to grant him a $67,800 loan.

It's unlikely the NCAA would punish Duke without Thomas or the jeweler cooperating with an investigation unless a third party comes forward and acknowledges he provided Thomas with the money.

Whether it's walking barefoot on the sidelines, donning a disco-era suit and gold chains or wearing a kilt instead of pants, college basketball coaches have gone to great lengths to promote their favorite charities.

Rutgers coach Mike Rice elevated the bar even higher Friday when he raised money for the fight against cancer by rappelling down the side of a 34-story New Jersey skyscraper with only a few cords holding up aloft.

Rice's daredevil descent was part of the American Cancer Society's "Over the Edge" event. It took him a mere nine minutes to get from the roof of the 470-foot Harborside Financial Center Plaza 5 building to the ground, a speedy time that would have been even faster had he not stopped to say hello to fans watching from the windows of the office building.

"Halfway down, then you start to enjoy it," Rice told the Newark Star-Ledger. "There was big boardroom with a lot of block R's, so they started taking pictures, and I was waving. So that was fun. Just the over the edge part was the difficult part for me. But again, it's for a great cause in the American Cancer Society. My part was just rappelling down a perfectly normal, safe skyscraper."

Rappelling down a building is the most high-risk way Rice has raised money for cancer research and prevention, but it's certainly not the first time he has contributed to the cause.

Guard Scott Bamforth is Weber State's leading returning scorer (US Presswire)

As he addressed his players for the first time this school year, Weber State coach Randy Rahe couldn't shake the feeling someone was missing.

He texted former Wildcats star Damian Lillard to tell the Portland Trail Blazers first-round pick how strange it was not seeing his face during a team meeting.

"I went into the whole deal about how proud I was of him and how much he meant to the program," Rahe said. "I got a little sentimental and he got a little sentimental. It brought tears to my eyes. I love that kid to death. It was a nice exchange, I'll leave it at that."

If Rahe felt Lillard's absence during a late-August team meeting, it certainly won't get any easier not having him once the season actually starts. Few players across the nation were more important to their programs last year than Lillard, who led an injury-plagued Weber State team to 25 wins by averaging an efficient 24.5 points per game and dishing out more than twice as many assists as turnovers.

Weber State does not have another NBA lottery pick on its roster next season to duplicate Lillard's production by himself, but the Wildcats do bring back enough talent to challenge Big Sky favorite Montana if they can forge a new identity. Instead of relying on a star player to be their catalyst on offense, they'll have to try to beat teams with a balanced inside-outside attack featuring onetime complementary players itching to shoulder a greater load.

Senior guard Scott Bamforth, Weber State's leading returning scorer, is a deadly outside shooter capable of punishing any opponent that leaves him free behind the arc. Junior center Kyle Tresnak, the league's best returning big man, runs the floor well and scores over either shoulder with his back to the basket. And sweet-shooting forward Byron Fulton and high-scoring Cal State Monterey Bay transfer Davion Berry both appear ready to blossom as juniors.

Will Cherry, Art Steward and Kareem Jamar celebrate last year's Big Sky championship (US Presswire)

Yahoo! Sports is breaking down each league for the upcoming college basketball season working backward from No. 31 to No. 1. Here's a look at our No. 24 league, the Big Sky.

When Montana guard Will Cherry outlined his goals for his senior season a few months ago, he insisted he wouldn't be satisfied with merely making it to the NCAA tournament for the third time in his career

Cherry feels his career would be incomplete if the Griz can't do some damage in March.

Those goals are now in jeopardy as a result of the broken foot Cherry recently sustained going up for a layup during a pick-up game. Montana is hopeful he'll be back by the start of league play in mid-December, but Cherry told the Missoulian last week he'll consider taking a redshirt season if his foot doesn't heal quickly enough.

Assuming Cherry does return in mid-December, his absence will have pros and cons for Montana.

On the one hand, Montana's odds of winning enough nonconference games to potentially attain a favorable NCAA tournament seed certainly diminish without the Big Sky's leading returning scorer and reigning defensive player of the year. On the other hand, junior guard Kareem Jamar would benefit from the experience of running the team and taking on the role of go-to scorer, and sophomores Keron DeShields and Jordan Gregory would also gain from assuming bigger early season roles.

A look at Cal State Northridge's newly renovated Matadome (via Cal State Northridge)

Swing open the doors to the basketball arena at a Big West school these days, and it may require a hard hat to walk inside.

Six of the league's schools either upgraded their arenas this summer or amped up fundraising for future renovations in a bid to remain competitive when Hawaii returns to the Big West this season and San Diego State and Boise State arrive next fall.

Long Beach State and UC Santa Barbara refurbished their men's and women's locker rooms. Cal State Northridge installed an air conditioning system, video boards and a new floor and added custom wall graphics to its aging gym. And UC Riverside unveiled artist renderings and a site feasibility plan for a $70 million new arena that could open as soon as Nov. 2015.

"If we don't have a different facility, I don't want to say we have no shot to compete but it would make it really, really tough to make much progress," UC Riverside athletic director Brian Wickstrom said. "We know what San Diego State is bringing to the table facilities-wise and how far their budget will go. If you don't want to be left behind, you have to do things now to start competing and move up."

The urgency with which Big West schools have begun renovating their facilities is a direct result of their desire to either continue to compete for conference titles or to avoid being left in the dust. San Diego State, and to a lesser extent Hawaii and Boise State, have superior arenas and more money to spend on everything from coaching salaries, to scheduling, to recruiting budgets.

In the case of back-to-back Big West champion Long Beach State, the gap appears somewhat manageable. In the case of some of the other teams in the league, it's more like a chasm.

James Ennis hopes to lead Long Beach State to another Big West crown (US Presswire)

Yahoo! Sports is breaking down each league for the upcoming college basketball season working backward from No. 31 to No. 1. Here's a look at our No. 25 league, the Big West.

Even though Long Beach State graduated the best senior class the Big West has produced in at least a decade, it won't be easy for another team to unseat the two-time defending regular season champs.

An influx of promising transfers and the return of some capable veterans gives the 49ers a chance to reload rather than rebuild despite the departure of conference player of the year Casper Ware and standouts Larry Anderson, T.J. Robinson and Eugene Phelps.

Senior James Ennis will have the opportunity to emerge as a go-to perimeter threat after showing promise last year as a complementary scorer and lockdown defender. Sophomore Michael Caffey should assume the role of starting point guard after averaging 5.9 points, 2.2 assists as Ware's understudy last season. And those two will receive plenty of help in the paint from 6-10 West Virginia transfer Dan Jennings and at the other forward spot from 6-7 DePaul transfer Tony Freeland.

Maybe the most accomplished of Long Beach State's transfers, however, is guard Keala King, a former top 100 recruit who averaged a team-high 13.7 points through 13 games as a sophomore at Arizona State before leaving the program. King won't be available during much of Long Beach State's grueling non-league schedule, but he'll join the team in mid-December and should be integrated into the rotation by the start of league play.

"Our goal is to always challenge in the Big West, and I think the talent is there," Long Beach State coach Dan Monson said. "There's a lot of individual talent, but is there a team? When you have that many transfers, they came for themselves. They left for personal reasons, they come to you as individuals and they've got to buy into what makes the team successful. So I know there's enough talent to contend and now it's my job to get them on the same page."