COLLEGE BASKETBALL

DURANT TO ENTER NBA DRAFT

Kevin Durant is done with college.

Durant, an 18-year-old Texas freshman and the Associated Press Player of the Year, said yesterday he’s leaving the Longhorns to enter the NBA draft.

“I enjoyed my year here at Texas,” Durant said in a statement released before his news conference. “All the fans and everyone here at Texas made me feel right at home, considering I was so far from home. I will always be a Longhorn and never forget what the people of Texas have done for me.”

After an All-American season in which he swept the major player of the year awards, few expected Durant to play another season in college.

UCLA’S AFFLALO TO TURN PRO

UCLA All-American Arron Afflalo is passing up his senior year to enter the NBA draft.

Afflalo, who averaged 16.9 points, 2.8 rebounds, and 1.9 assists and led the Bruins to consecutive Final Fours, announced his decision yesterday at a news conference on campus. The 21-year-old junior from Compton declared for the NBA draft last year, but withdrew his name and returned to school after attending evaluation camps. A player who declares a second time isn’t allowed to return to school.

TURGEON INTRODUCED AS TEXAS A&M COACH

Mark Turgeon was introduced as Texas A&M’s basketball coach yesterday, five days after Billy Gillispie left for Kentucky.

Turgeon comes to Texas A&M from Wichita State, where he led the Shockers to a 17–14 record in the Missouri Valley Conference this past season.

He was introduced at a news conference before being a pep rally style event at Reed Arena attended by about 2,000 A&M fans. The band played and fans whooped and hollered and some displayed signs that said things such as “Howdy” and “Welcome Turge, Gig Em.”

HOCKEY

BLACKHAWKS WIN FIRST PICK IN NHL DRAFT LOTTERY

Chicago won the NHL draft lottery yesterday, giving the Blackhawks a reason to celebrate after missing the playoffs for the eighth time in nine seasons.

The Blackhawks, who will pick first in the June draft, had the fifth worst record and only an 8.1% chance to come out on top in the lottery.

The Philadelphia Flyers, who had a league-low 56 points in the worst season of their 40-year history, own the second pick followed by Phoenix, Los Angeles, and Washington.

OUTSPOKEN ANNOUNCER CHERRY TO MAKE U.S. DEBUT ON NBC

Don Cherry is bringing his loud mouth and louder outfits south of the border.

The outspoken former coach of the Boston Bruins, who has been a fixture on CBC’s “Hockey Night In Canada” telecasts for more than 25 years, will make his U.S. broadcasting debut as part of NBC’s Stanley Cup playoff telecasts, the network announced yesterday.

“A lot of people have written that what I say up here I would never get away with it down in the States,” said Cherry, the Bruins’ coach from the 1974–75 season until the 1978–79 campaign. “I’ll just go on and do what I have to do.

BASEBALL

METS’ SANCHEZ HAS SHOULDER SURGERY

Mets reliever 7 Sanchez had shoulder surgery yesterday and is expected to begin his rehabilitation within two months.

Sanchez had a screw inserted in a small bone in front of his right shoulder to repair a hairline fracture. He will need six-to-eight weeks to recover from the surgery and then will begin his rehabilitation. Another six-to-eight weeks after that, he could begin throwing in a competitive situation, according to the Mets.