Amile Jefferson (Rivals)In the midst of a discouraging offseason featuring early defections, unfounded transfer rumors and a flurry of misses on high-profile recruits, Duke finally received some badly needed good news.

The Blue Devils landed power forward Amile Jefferson, the lone unsigned consensus top 40 recruit in the class of 2012.

Jefferson, a 6-foot-7 McDonald's All-American from Philadelphia, chose Duke over ACC rival NC State, Kentucky, Villanova and Ohio State. Duke made him a priority after the early signing period and put on a full-court press after fellow elite power forward Tony Parker chose UCLA over the Blue Devils.

[Pat Forde: Leading U.S. Olympic team a thankless job for Coach K]

What Jefferson provides Duke next season is a perfect frontcourt complement off the bench to starters Mason Plumlee and Ryan Kelly. Whereas Plumlee is a traditional back-to-the-basket big man and Kelly is a spot-up shooter, Jefferson brings athleticism, length and an ability to score off the dribble that is largely missing from Duke's roster.

The addition of Jefferson to a recruiting class that previously included only guard Rasheed Sulaimon is both a talent and morale boost for Duke. On the heels of an already disappointing first-round exit against Lehigh, the Blue Devils lost Austin Rivers to the NBA draft, learned Andre Dawkins may redshirt the season and failed to land Parker, Shabazz Muhammad and transfer Jordan Clarkson, among others.

[Mike Huguenin: Elite eight ACC newcomers for 2012-13 season]

While North Carolina or NC State is probably still the favorite in what may be a down season in the ACC, Jefferson's presence figures to ensure the Blue Devils remain a contender at the very least.

Shaka Smart and VCU are bound for the Atlantic 10 next year (Getty Images)

For anyone either unable or unwilling to endure the 20 minutes of administrative blather that accompanied VCU's announcement it's headed to the Atlantic 10, here's the gist of school president Michael Rao's justification for the decision.

He believes VCU has outgrown the CAA. He thinks VCU is prepared for a major step up in competition. And he expects the money generated by longterm success in the Atlantic 10 to outweigh the short-term costs of making the switch.

Ultimately that's the gamble the Rams are taking by making the leap next fall to the league generally considered to be the nation's best outside the power six.

Yes, they're forfeiting about $5 million in revenue from their 2011 Final Four appearance.  Yes, they must pay $250,000 exit fee to the CAA and a $700,000 entrance fee to the A-10. Yes, they're driving up annual travel costs about $150,000 by trading a regional league for one with farther-flung programs. But those expenditures eventually will be worthwhile as long as the Atlantic 10's soon-to-be-negotiated TV deal is lucrative and VCU thrives in its new league the way Rao believes it can.

"Sometimes you have to focus on what's in the longterm best interest of your university," Rao said. "One of the things you have to consider is ... how much faith do you have in your ability to win? My faith is very, very high. I believe we will win, and therefore we will be able to do well. The expected returns are far greater than the short-term losses."

VCU will begin competing in the Atlantic 10 in the 2012-13 school year, a decision made out of concern that the CAA would render the Rams ineligible to participate in conference tournaments during their lame-duck season.

What the Atlantic 10 provides VCU basketball that the CAA can't is a league formidable enough to annually earn three or four NCAA tournament bids per year. The CAA has been on an upswing since George Mason's 2006 Final Four run, yet it's only received four at-large bids since 2000 and its league champ, Drexel, missed the NCAA tournament last season despite a gaudy 16-2 conference record.

Graduating from the Louisville School of Dentistry wasn't the most exciting moment of Taraneh Momeni's weekend.

In fact, it was a distant second.

As Momeni walked across the stage after receiving her diploma, Louisville senior guard Kyle Kuric ran up to the podium under the guise that he wanted to snap some photos of his longtime girlfriend's big moment. Instead, Kuric grabbed the microphone and launched into a concise speech, telling the audience, "Sorry to interrupt, but me and her have been dating for about 2 1/2 years. I love her more than anything and I definitely want to be with her for the rest of my life."

With that Kuric, dropped to one knee, unveiled a ring and asked a wobbly-legged Momeni if she'd marry him. She said yes and they shared an embrace, much to the delight of the roaring crowd at the ceremony.

"Well, my entire family was going to be in town and obviously her entire family was going to be in town for this so, we wanted it to be a big family thing," Kuric told WHTV in Louisville. "She had no idea so that just added to it."