Luke DeCock

Andrew Wiggins, the top-rated prospect in the country, will announce Tuesday where he intends to play what is almost certainly his one year of college basketball, choosing among North Carolina, Florida State, Kansas and Kentucky.

Twentieth out of 30 NHL teams in payroll this season, the Carolina Hurricanes are moving into a new division full of free-spending major-market teams and general manager Jim Rutherford said the team will try to keep pace with their new peers as the cap drops from $70.2 million to $64.3 million.

With the Hurricanes having now missed the playoffs for the sixth time in seven seasons since winning the Stanley Cup, under three different head coaches, with a roster in desperate need of improvement, there are many questions to be asked of this team. First, though, general manager Jim Rutherford has to ask himself: Is he still the right man for the job?

North Carolina has been the alpha dog in baseball around these parts for a while now, and though N.C. State hasn’t been far behind, the Wolfpack hasn’t been able to close the gap, not head-to-head, certainly not in terms of postseason success, where the Tar Heels have made frequent visits to Omaha and the Wolfpack has stumbled.

The Hurricanes play their final Southeast Division game before the NHL moves to a four-division alignment next season. Not many will miss the group of misfits known as the “Southleast,” but the Hurricanes will.

While the NCAA pushes incremental reforms that will preserve its position at the top of the pyramid – and the bottom of the waterfall of money generated by college sports – outsiders wonder why there isn’t more of a push for a complete reassessment of the entire model.

North Carolina has enough depth to handle Reggie Bullock’s early departure to the NBA, but it does increase the importance of top recruit Andrew Wiggins’ decision. He’s considering the Tar Heels, Kentucky, Kansas and Florida State.

I’m over you, NCAA tournament. You’ve changed. I’m not in love anymore. It’s time for me to move on.

Hurricanes coach Kirk Muller has a simple message for his team, which is in danger of missing the NHL playoffs: Keep doing what you've been doing, just do it better.

NC State has lost three players already, and could lose more. UNC is holding its breath, waiting for James Michael McAdoo, Reggie Bullock and P.J. Hairston to decide their next move. Next year’s ACC standings will be shaped by what happens in the next month.