Why is this news?: Lenzelle + Marshall Henderson?, Title IX investigation finds 'no major concerns'

"Three years later, the tournament is set to go in an altered form. The lead organizers, Vin Martelli and Jonathan Mugar, will later today unveil The Basketball Tournament, a 32-team five-on-five bracket with a $500,000 winner-take-all prize."

-Zach Lowe, Grantland

Lenzelle Smith Jr. is amongst nine other players for potential inclusion in a five-on-five tournament set to award $500,000 to the team that wins a 32-team tournament. 24 entries are set, but tournament organizers are in the process of selecting eight others from an at-large pool that includes LS2's side.

We won't know for sure until May 8, but assuming Lenzelle's group is in (which advertise themselves as made up of "good friends and Philly ballers"), they'll compete for a shot at a cool half a million, that Lenzelle reportedly is looking for 25K of.

Best part of it all? Amongst those on Lenzelle's team is none other than Ole Miss public enemy number one/bad boy/hero, Marshall Henderson. The progenitor of #WhiteGirlWednesday joins former Golden State Warrior Reggie Williams and national championship standout Hakim Warrick on a team you'd be hard pressed to ignore – assuming they're selected to play in the first place.

"I also want to make it clear that a college or university’s appearance on this list and being the subject of a Title IX investigation in no way indicates at this stage that the college or university is violating or has violated the law,"

-Catherine Lhamon , Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights

News came out this morning that Ohio State was amongst 55 prominent colleges and universities being investigated by the U.S. Department of Education for how they handled sexual abuse complaints under Title IX. However, Ohio State's sought to put a different spin on it.

According to a university spokesman, the university were proactively initiating the review to ensure that they had sound practices in place to deal with such situations.

"Throughout that process, which is now winding down, OCR has consistently told us that Ohio State has impressive protocols and resources for combating sexual harassment, that no major concerns or findings have been identified, and that our protocols could serve as a model for other schools around the country," Ohio State spokesman Gary Lewis told The Lantern.

While Title IX remains an important part of interscholastic athletics (and though some of its policies aren't without their critics), it certainly paints things in a far different light to have that evidently be the case as opposed to finding the university on the flip side of the ledger.

"Expect the Buckeyes to get a 4- or 3-for-1 exempt tournament including another high-major at home."

-Bob Baptist, Columbus Dispatch

Arguably the biggest news of the day was Ohio State getting set to face Louisville in the 2014 ACC-Big Ten Challenge.

However, the venerable Bob Baptist of the Columbus Dispatch (who's one to know these sorts of things) thinks a fourth high-profile non-conference game could be in the cards for the Buckeyes in an arrangement not unlike the Gotham Classic last season, which saw OSU take on Bryant, Delaware, and North Dakota State (though also, Notre Dame).

Say what you will about the Bucks' 2014-15 chances, but clearly Thad Matta would appear to be a believer.

"I don’t know if we will ever completely cut ties with a kid that doesn’t visit, but we look at it realistically. The bottom line is, you’ll always take the kid that has been to your campus three times because you feel comfortable with him."

-Tim Hinton, Ohio State tight ends/fullbacks coach

In a must read, OSU (and Marion, OH legend) Tim Hinton spoke candidly with 247Sports.com to talk all things spring evaluation period, which wraps up May 31.

Amongst the highlights, Hinton speaks to whether or not you can land a kid if you don't have him on campus in the spring or the summer, the differences between recruiting 16, 17, and 18 year olds, as well as the possibility of an early signing period in football.

The good news is based on the read, Ohio State has another good one from a philosophical approach in Hinton. As long as they have an Urban Meyer handpicked crew of like minded individuals, they should be in pretty good shape.

STICK TO SPORTS

• The new Snapchat texting/video chat is going to change recruiting forever.
• "Will library collections of the future be carried in hip pockets?"
• An Ohio lawyer argues in a deposition over what a "photocopying machine" is. Stupidity ensues.
• Here's a NYT obit of a 106-year old who was an Olympic marksman, WWII vet, and FBI agent who killed 11 gangsters.
• Video of an entire street collapsing, washing away cars.