After an inconsistent freshman season, Harrison Barnes decided to remain at North Carolina for the 11-12 season.

Barnes was impressive on Monday while battling Kevin Durant at the Elite Skills Camp in Chicago.

"Top pick in the next draft -- by far," said one scout of Barnes.

Lorenzo Charles, whose last-second dunk gave underdog North Carolina State a win in the 1983 national college championship game, was killed Monday when a bus he was driving crashed along a highway, a company official said.

Elite Coach GM Brad Jackson said Charles, 47, worked for the company and was driving one of its buses on Interstate 40. No passengers were aboard, according to an ESPN.com report.

University of Kentucky men’s basketball coach John Calipari agreed to a contract extension worth $36.5 million over the next eight years, the school announced Monday Morning.

“What John Calipari has done on and off the court in the past two years to reunite and rejuvenate this fan base has been magical,” said UK athletic director Mitch Barnhart in a statement. “He understands the responsibility that goes along with this position and there is no other coach out there that is a better fit for the best basketball program in the country.”

Calipari stands to make even more through the incentives and bonuses in the contract. He stands to receive $1 million retention bonuses in six of the eight years.

Calipari is 64-12 in two seasons with the Wildcats.

Mike Krzyzewski has rejected NBA overtures from the Boston Celtics and the Los Angeles Lakers since he became Duke's men's basketball coach in 1980.

On Saturday night, he said the Minnesota Timberwolves won't be luring him away either.

While a published report said the Timberwolves were interested in hiring Krzyzewski as they were moving to fire coach Kurt Rambis last week, the coach said through a school spokesman that it was a non-starter.

Duke spokesman Matt Plizga said he spoke with Krzyzewski Saturday night and the coach said "no one had contacted him and he hadn't contacted anyone" about the Minnesota job.

Jordan Hamilton was chosen by the Dallas Maverickswith the 26th pick in the first round, and eventually ended up with the Denver Nuggets as part of a three-team deal.

Some were projecting Hamilton higher. When NBA writer Chris Tomasson asked Hamilton about it, the Longhorns standout said he felt Barnes had some influence. Tomasson tweeted Hamilton's response to him.

"(Barnes) called some teams and said that I probably wasn't coachable and things like that. But I feel I can be coachable"

He also told Tomasson that he "got some feedback" that led him to believe that information.

Timberwolves GM David Kahn made a run at Mike Krzyzewski.

Talk about a waste of time. Coach K once turned down a chance to go to the Lakers and coach Kobe Bryant in his prime. Did Kahn really think that he could get Krzyzewski to leave his Duke kingdom? He did.

"He tried to get him," said one Kahn confidante.

Former Duke star Jon Scheyer has agreed to a two-year contract with Maccabi Tel Aviv of the Israeli league, the school’s athletic website GoDuke.com released in a statement.

Since winning the 2010 NCAA Championship as a senior, Scheyer has played in the NBA Summer League and led the Rio Grande Vipers to an appearance in the NBA D-League Finals. He averaged 13.1 points, 4.0 rebounds and 4.0 assists in the team’s run.

"I am really excited to take the next step in my basketball career and go play for Maccabi Tel Aviv," Scheyer said in a statement. "I am looking forward to the opportunity to play for a team with such great tradition."

Thirteen players were named Sunday as finalists for the 2011 USA World Championship under-19 basketball team.

The finalists were selected from among 20 players invited to the the USA U19 Team training camp, which began Friday in Colorado Springs. One more cut is scheduled Wednesday before the final 12-man roster is set. The team departs Friday for Europe.

The USA team will try to defend the gold medal it won in 2009 at the 2011 FIBA U19 World Championship, which runs June 30 to July 10 in Latvia.

The 13 finalists: Keith Appling (Michigan State); James Bell (Villanova); Anthony Brown (Stanford); Jahii Carson (incoming freshman at Arizona State); Tim Hardaway, Jr. (Michigan); Joe Jackson (Memphis); Jeremy Lamb (Connecticut); Meyers Leonard (Illinois); Khyle Marshall (Butler); Javon McCrea (Buffalo); Doug McDermott (Creighton); Tony Mitchell (North Texas); and Patric Young (Florida).

The NBA announced today which players earned invitations to sit in the green room during the upcoming draft. The list reflects a league-wide consensus about which players will be selected at the top of the draft. 

The league invited twelve college players -- Kyrie Irving (Duke), Derrick Williams (Arizona), Brandon Knight (Kentucky), Kemba Walker (UConn), Kawhi Leonard (San Diego State), Chris Singleton (Florida State) Klay Thompson (Washington State), Jimmer Fredette (BYU), Alec Burks (Colorado) as well as twins Marcus and Markieff Morris (Kansas).

Three international players -- Enes Kanter (Turkey), Jonas Valanciunas (Lithuania) and Jan Vesely (Czech Republic) -- made the cut.

The most noteworthy absence from the list is Bismack Biyombo (Congo) who has been rumored to go as high as No. 5 to Toronto.

Tex Winter's health and strength have stabilized to the point his family is making plans for the legendary former Chicago Bulls and Los Angeles Lakers assistant coach to attend his induction ceremonies into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in early August, according to a family friend.
 
When the Tribune first reported news of Winter's induction in early April, it didn't appear Winter would be able to attend the Aug. 12 ceremony in Springfield, Mass. Winter, 89, suffered a debilitating stroke in April 2009 and largely has been confined to care from family members since.
 
However, according to the family friend, Winter's family has begn to assemble a guest list for Winter's induction. That list will include Phil Jackson, who is expected to serve as Winter's presenter, a source said.