By Jacob E. Osterhout

The Dean's List Detention

Bob Huggins needs to spend less time on his cell phone and more time concentrating on his walking. AP

• I'm sure that by now every sports fan in America has heard about West Virginia basketball coach Bob Huggins' face-plant at an airport in Charlotte. But I'm not sure that everyone knows the details, which are worth repeating. Huggins had just deplaned and was checking his cell phone messages on the tarmac when he tripped over a plastic cone and hit his head on the ground. He must've really hit the ground hard because he had to be taken to a hospital for observation. (Huggins was later released in good spirits.) The whole incident raises a few questions. Who could leave a message on Huggins' voicemail that was so titillating and engaging that he could not see the bright orange cone right in front of his feet? And, on a more conspiratorial front, was the airport worker who placed the guilty cone in Huggins' path a bitter Kansas State or Cincinnati fan?

• What? Did you think O.J. Mayo was going to USC to get an education? Did you think he would stay in Los Angeles longer than the mandated year? No, you didn't. So you shouldn't be surprised to learn that Mayo has been accused of receiving thousands of dollars in benefits while at USC. In fact, he was receiving payments before he even attended college. According to a former friend, over the last four years, Mayo received over $30,000 in cash, flat-screen TVs, hotel rooms, clothes and airplane tickets from an L.A. promoter who was working on behalf of Bill Duffy Associates (BDA) sports agency. The promoter even helped Mayo purchase an Infiniti SUV. (Always a tip-off when they're pimpin' a sweet new ride.) Now that Mayo has declared for the NBA draft, he's decided to hire an agent. Shockingly, he's chosen Calvin Andrews of BDA sports agency. Reggie Bush would be proud of you, O.J.

• Tough week for colleges in the state of Florida. Former Gator Jamar Hornsby turned himself in to police this week for using a dead girl's gas card, which he allegedly snatched while helping the deceased girl's parents remove belongings from her apartment after she died. Florida International was hit with four years of probation by the NCAA for basically ignoring enrollment and eligibility rules, financial aid regulations and transfer requirements. Florida State left tackle Daron Rose, who started 11 games last season, was declared academically ineligible for the 2008 season. And finally, the University of Central Florida was forced to fire its baseball coach of almost 26 years, Jay Bergman, after an equipment manager accused him of using a bat to simulate rape while his players watched.

• With more and more sports-generated revenue flowing into university coffers, certain schools are taking their recruiting efforts to the next level. Last week, the University of Kentucky Athletics Association Board of Directors voted to fund a private plane for use in recruiting. (Billy Gillispie has got to be happy. Imagine the impact a private plane will make on an eighth-grade recruit!) Wildcat supporters noted that this move was necessary to keep up with other SEC schools that already own a private jet. The $4,000 per hour cost of the plane will be offset by what Kentucky would've paid for in hotel rooms, commercial flight and other miscellaneous travel expenses. And, just in case you thought this recruiting perk would be available to all teams - Kentucky is limiting it's use to football, men's basketball, and, if they behave themselves, women's basketball. Softball, don't even think about.

• Washington D.C. -- the nation's capital and, at one time, a bastion of college hoops prowess. But it's been a tough run recently for the DC area. Coming off a disappointing season, Maryland coach Gary Williams continues to face criticism over his recruitment of Tyree Evans, a JUCO star with a rap sheet that includes convictions (only misdemeanors) for assault and drugs, and the firestorm is liable to heat up even more after the Terrapins finished last among the ACC in the NCAA's Academic Progress Rate. George Washington, another program coming off a poor season, kicked two players off the men's team for not living up to coach Karl Hobbs' modest expectations. And Jeremiah Rivers, a defensive specialist and Doc Rivers' son, just announced that he'll be transferring from Georgetown. He's the fifth player to leave the team from the first two recruiting classes of Coach John Thompson III and the second that's hightailed it out of Georgetown this month. In case the Nats .395 winning percentage didn't tip you off, all is not well inside the beltway.

Jacob E. Osterhout can be contacted at jacob.osterhout@gmail.com.