Fast Break

NBA

Bucks fire Krystkowiak

The Milwaukee Bucks fired Larry Krystkowiak on Thursday after his first full season as the coach.

The move has been expected since Larry Harris was dismissed as general manager last month. Bucks owner and U.S. Sen. Herb Kohl hired general manager John Hammond, who had promised to quickly deal with the coaching situation.

“I am not the coach anymore. I am going to sit at home the next couple of days and decompress,” said Krystkowiak.

Hammond has ties to several veteran coaches without top jobs, including Larry Brown, Rick Carlisle and Alvin Gentry.

Touted as a potential playoff contender going into the season, the Bucks finished a dismal 26-56 and were one of the worst defensive teams.

Krystkowiak is the University of Montana’s leading scorer and rebounder, posting 2,017 points and 1,105 rebounds from 1982-86. He coached the Grizzlies for two seasons, posting a 42-20 record and two trips to the NCAA tournament.

NBA

Love will leave UCLA

Less than two weeks after leading the Bruins to the Final Four, All-American freshman Kevin Love announced that he’ll skip his final three college seasons and enter the NBA draft.

The 6-foot-10 Love said he did not immediately plan to hire an agent, which would temporarily allow him to keep playing for UCLA.

“I want to maintain my eligibility in case something happens,” Love said. He later added that it’s “definitely a possibility” that something could prompt him to change his mind.

Love’s teammate, sophomore guard Russell Westbrook, also said that he’s headed to the NBA, as had been expected.

Westbrook said that if it looks as though he’ll go lower than about the 20th pick in the draft, he’ll likely return to school. Players who don’t hire agents can back out of the draft as late as June 16.

Darren Collison, the team’s junior point guard, has yet to decide whether he’ll stay or go. The deadline for underclassmen to declare is April 27.

Kansas stars Brandon Rush and Darrell Arthur also declared their NBA intentions.

Women’s basketball

Eastern assistant hired at Cameron

Eastern Washington assistant Tom Webb was hired to take over a Cameron University team coming off consecutive four-win seasons.

Webb has been an assistant at Eastern Washington for the past four years and last year was promoted to associate head coach. The Eagles were 43-71 in that time, including 4-25 last season.

Webb replaces Kevin Hackerott, who went 8-45 in two seasons at the NCAA Division II school located in Lawton, Okla.