Ahmad Starks (Getty Images)Three months ago, Ahmad Starks fell out of the starting lineup despite playing for a team that finished tied for last in the Pac-12.

Today the Oregon State transfer is headed to his dream school.

Starks, a 5-foot-9 guard from Chicago, announced Thursday he will transfer to childhood favorite Illinois, further proof of how quickly fortunes can change in college basketball. He has one year of eligibility remaining and could potentially play for the Illini as soon as next season if the NCAA deems his desire to be closer to his ailing grandma sufficient cause for a hardship waiver.

How much Starks can actually help Illinois is debatable because he was often exasperating at Oregon State.

Starks shot a career high 39.5 percent from behind the arc as a junior, but he struggled to finish at the rim as he has his whole career because of his size, sinking just 38 percent of his two-point attempts. He was especially ineffective over Oregon State's final eight games when he made just 12 of 47 shots.

Erratic shooting wouldn't be such an issue for Starks if he made up for it in other facets of his game, but his ability to score is his best asset. His size often makes him a liability on defense and he has a tendency to call his own number a lot for a point guard, a trait that led him to produce three or less assists in all but six games last season.

Julie Hermann (Getty Images)The most critical time for school officials to be thorough about examining the background of a potential new hire is when the candidate is arriving on the heels of a scandal that cost his or her predecessor their job.

That's why it's so stunning that the vetting process at scandal-ravaged Rutgers this spring wasn't more thorough.

In the six weeks since Rutgers fired Mike Rice for shoving and kicking players and hurling balls at their heads and athletics director Tim Pernetti for initially insufficiently punishing the coach, the bad news for the Scarlet Knights has yet to subside.

First came the revelation earlier this month that new basketball coach Eddie Jordan didn't have a degree from the school as claimed on his bio. Next came news this past weekend that new athletic director Julie Hermann had been accused of mistreating players when she was women's volleyball coach at Tennessee in the 1990s. And finally came Tuesday's latest punch to the gut, a New York Times report that Hermann was also at the center of a 2008 sex discrimination lawsuit when she worked at Louisville as a senior athletics administrator.

According to the Times, assistant track and field coach Mary Banker approached Hermann to complain about sexist behavior and “discriminatory treatment” by head coach Ron Mann. Three weeks later, Banker was fired from her position at Louisville, a decision her lawsuit largely attributes to Hermann.

It's Louisville's contention that Banker lost her job simply because her performance wasn't sufficient. A jury initially awarded Banker $300,000 in damages, but a Kentucky appeals court overturned the verdict, insisting Banker did not prove Louisville officials retaliated against her.

Andrew Wiggins (USA Today Sports Images)

Why do those close to Andrew Wiggins consistently laud the nation's best high school basketball prospect for his character and humility?

Probably because so few of his peers would ever think to do something like what he did after graduating from Huntington Prep in West Va. on Friday.

Two days later, Wiggins wrote a letter to the Huntington community in Sunday's edition of the town's local newspaper, The Herald-Dispatch. From his host family, to his classmates and teachers, to even the school janitor, the Canada native thanks everyone involved in his life for their support during his two years of prep school. It reads, in part:

I just wanted to thank Huntington for your support for me and my Huntington Prep teammates and coaches these past two years. Without the community, none of what has been accomplished would have been attainable. I hope that when you hear or read my name, you are proud to say I played my high school days here in Huntington. Because I am proud to say I played here. [...]

One of the best things about my experience here is St. Joseph Central Catholic H.S. where we all attend. There are a lot of good people in that building from the principal to the teachers to the janitor; I will never forget all the positive influences they have been in my development as a young man. My peers at St. Joe have also been supportive of me and have always treated me as one of their own. I am not different, just a kid, and at St. Joe I could be. Thank you. [...]