Fast Break
College basketball
Aggers won’t pursue EWU job
Former Eastern Washington men’s basketball coach Steve Aggers is no longer interested in returning.
“My initial response was that I would be interested if they had an interest in me,” said Aggers, who had a record of 51-82 in five seasons at EWU through 2000. “I made a bunch of calls to the area and talked to friends and some coaching colleagues. I’m just really disappointed in the way they treated Mike Burns, the way he was dismissed, not only the timing of it, but the way they handled it.
“That upsets me a great deal, so I don’t think it’s a situation I’m interested in any longer.”
NBA
Donovan, Magic resolve differences
The about-face drama of Billy Donovan’s seven-day reign as coach of the Orlando Magic came to an end Wednesday when he and the team reached a settlement that dissolves the $27.5 million contract he signed last Thursday, according to NBA and University of Florida sources.
Sources said all that remains is Donovan’s final signature on the document. Donovan is most likely headed back to Florida, where he has won national titles each of the past two seasons.
Donovan, 42, informed the Magic on Saturday that he had reservations about making the jump to the NBA, just 22 hours after he was introduced by the team at a news conference. The Magic worked for three days trying to persuade Donovan to change his mind.
As one of the stipulations of getting out of the contract, the Magic sought a non-compete agreement that wouldn’t allow Donovan to coach in the NBA for the next five years.
NBA
Sonics go young with new GM
The Seattle SuperSonics have called a news conference for today at which they will reportedly name San Antonio assistant general manager Sam Presti as their new general manager.
The team would not confirm Presti as the choice of Sonics owner Clay Bennett and president of basketball operations Lenny Wilkens, but the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, citing anonymous sources, first reported Presti’s hiring Wednesday afternoon.
Presti is just 30 years old, but quickly elevated through the Spurs’ organization.