Wright ready for the big time, leaves early
Brandan Wright enjoyed playing for Roy Williams and knew North Carolina could contend for a national championship next season. He just couldn’t pass on the chance to take care of his family by entering the NBA draft.
“I was definitely torn in my decision,” the freshman said Monday during a news conference. “There are so many positives and negatives in me entering the draft. But I feel like the positives outweigh the negatives.”
The 19-year-old Wright said he doesn’t intend to sign with an agent yet – a move that would keep open the possibility of a return to school next year.
•Utah State guard Jaycee Carroll will enter the NBA draft but won’t hire an agent to retain the right to withdraw by June 18 and return for his senior season.
The 6-foot-2 Carroll averaged 21.3 points per game last season to lead the Western Athletic Conference.
•Matthew Mitchell was introduced as the first male coach in the 36-year history of women’s basketball at Kentucky.
•Penn State introduced Coquese Washington as women’s basketball coach, turning the program over to a former player and career assistant without head coaching experience.
The 36-year-old replaces Rene Portland, who went 606-236 at Penn State in a 27-year career but stepped down in March a month after she and the university settled a lawsuit by a former player who claimed Portland had a “no-lesbian” policy.
•Colorado State forward Xavier Kilby was arrested in Fort Collins, Colo., after he was accused of pointing a gun at teammate Ronnie Aguilar’s head, police said Monday.
High School Baseball
Bat ban enforced
Metal bats will be banned from high school baseball in New York City, the nation’s largest school system, starting this September after the city council overrode a mayoral veto of the bill.
The measure outlawed metal bats under the theory that they produce balls with greater velocity and raise the risk of injury because of less reaction time. Opponents, including Little League Baseball and equipment suppliers, say there is no evidence metal bats are more dangerous.
New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg vetoed the bat ban this month, saying the issue should be left up to those who run the youth leagues, not the government. But the city council overwhelmingly knocked down the veto by a vote of 41-4.
Miscellany
Landis cries foul
Tour de France champion Floyd Landis got more bad news – a report that follow-up tests on his backup urine samples found traces of synthetic testosterone.
But he refused to confirm the results and said the report on the Web site of French newspaper L’Equipe was yet another result of unethical maneuvers engineered by those who want him stripped of the Tour title.
“In any other industry or field, their failures would be construed as criminal negligence,” Landis said during a teleconference.
•The U.S. men’s soccer team will return to Europe for the first time since last year’s first-round World Cup elimination when it plays Sweden in an exhibition game Aug. 22 at Goteborg.
The Americans, 3-0-1 under interim coach Bob Bradley, next play June 2 against China at San Jose, Calif.
•The U.S. Figure Skating Championships are headed to NBC in a deal that involves no rights fees for the national governing body.
Instead, the USFSA will split the sale of ad time with NBC and will sell its own sponsorship packages.
Under the contract, all finals at nationals will be rescheduled to occur on the weekend. In the past, pairs and men’s finals often have been on Thursday or Friday nights.