Arizona and UNLV are out of the race to sign basketball star Shabazz Muhammad

"It's at three right now, yeah," Muhammad said. "UCLA, Kentucky and Duke. Right now, those are probably the last three before I make my decision."

Muhammad, Naismith National Player of the Year, said he liked UNLV and Kansas, but wanted to be honest with coaches who kept ringing his phone.

"I just think it was the calls," Muhammad said. "The schools that I took out, I liked them, but I wasn't really interested in going. I didn't want to lead them on. I want them to do the best they can to recruit other players and not recruit me anymore. I just thought that was the mature thing to do."

Muhammad was awarded MVP honors Wednesday in the McDonald's All-American Game, scoring 21 points to lead the West to a 106-102 victory.

"When you come to every event, you want to be known as the best player at the event," he said. "Knowing everybody's talented, this is the elite 24, top 24 guys in the country, and just coming in knowing everybody's competing, competing is a beautiful thing."

Shabazz Muhammad seems to have narrowed his college choices.

“I’m considering five but there are three that [stand out],” Muhammad announced.

UCLA, Duke, and Kentucky (in no order) have put themselves in the forefront, with Kansas and UNLV rounding out the top five.

Muhammad is expected to announce his decision on April 11 — the first day of the spring signing period which runs through May 16.

Tim Miles has accepted the head coaching position at Nebraska, according to sources.

Miles has been the head coach at Colorado State for the past five seasons.

ESPN.com reported that Miles has been offered a five-year contract with a rollover for a sixth, starting at $1.4 million a year. 

Khem Birch, a highly touted prospect who transferred to UNLV from Pittsburgh after playing only 10 games his freshman year, has been encouraging Anthony Bennett to sign with the Rebels.

“For sure, I’m considering UNLV. They are right here in my backyard,” said Bennett, who plays for Las Vegas Findlay Prep. “All those fans are always showing me how much they want me to come.”

Bennett and Birch are close friends from their playing days in Canada.

“He is a real cool guy. We are real close,” Bennett said of Birch. “Hopefully, everything works out and I get to play with him. If it doesn’t, we’ll still be cool. We’ll still be friends.”

Bennett is expected to make his decision in mid-April after he plays in the Jordan Brand Classic.

He is considering Florida, Kentucky, Oregon, UNLV and Washington.

Shabazz Muhammad will announce where he intends to go to college on April 11 — the first day of the spring signing period which runs through May 16.

“This is a lifetime decision for me. I have to make sure I make the right decision,” Muhammad said. “I’m still being patient with it. The process is going good right now. April 11 is when I will announce it.”

Muhammad, the consensus No. 2 overall prospect, is considering UCLA, Duke, Arizona, Kansas, Kentucky and UNLV.

Anthony Bennett has narrowed his list of schools to Florida, Kentucky, Oregon, UNLV and Washington.

"A lot of pressure is now lifted off of me by cutting my list down,” Bennett said. "Now I can deal just with those schools and watch the teams play and how the coaches coach their team. I feel like I took a step a step forward in the process."

Bennett, the top unsigned power forward in the country, is ranked No. 7 overall in the 2012 class.

Former UNLV coach Jerry Tarkanian is hospitalized and recovering from a “mild heart attack.”

Tarkanian, 81, was reportedly alert and could be released as early as Wednesday, said his daughter Jodie Diamant, who was with him all day.

New Mexico defeated San Diego State by a final score of 68-59 to win the 2012 Mountain West Tournament.

Drew Gordon was named Tournament MVP and was joined on the All-Tournament Team by teammate Tony Snell, SDSU's Jamaal Franklin and Chase Tapley, and Mike Moser of UNLV.

San Diego and UNLV are almost certain to receive at-large bids.

Former heavyweight champion Mike Tyson delivered a moving address to the UNLV Runnin’ Rebels on Tuesday.

“He came in and dropped some knowledge on us,” sophomore forward Mike Moser said.

Tyson’s broke down a little bit while talking about reaching the top of one’s sport.

“He got emotional thinking about not understanding how you couldn’t want to be a champion,” Moser said. “Guys come in and really don’t put in the work but say they want something. I took that away, just always remembering that you’ve got to work hard for the goals ahead.”

Amile Jefferson will soon announce his collegiate decision. The 6-foot-7, 190 pound forward visited Duke last weekend.

“He enjoyed his Duke trip,” Jefferson’s coach, Jason Polykoff said. “He doesn’t have an official timetable but he’s ready to make a decision very soon.”

Jefferson, one of the top unsigned seniors, is also considering Kentucky, N.C. State, Ohio State and Villanova.