Wooden Joins Crum on Hall of Fame Day

It was Denny Crum’s moment at Springfield, Mass., where he was one of five inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame on Monday.

That meant it was also John Wooden’s moment.

“He is the one who taught me everything I know about basketball,” said Crum, who played for Wooden and then served as his assistant coach at UCLA. “I wanted him to be part of this.”

Crum joined New Jersey Net and U.S. Olympic Coach Chuck Daly; Italy’s greatest coach, Cesare Rubini, and players Carol Blazejowski and Buddy Jeannette as those honored.

Crum had asked Wooden to present him and Wooden was happy to oblige.

“He was born to coach,” said Wooden, who made his first trip to the Hall of Fame in nearly 20 years.

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Houston Rocket center Hakeem Olajuwon, who was second in blocked shots and fourth in rebounding this season, was chosen NBA defensive player of the year for the second consecutive year, beating San Antonio center David Robinson by one vote among the 101 cast by sportswriters and broadcasters.

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Duke’s basketball team has canceled a series of games May 19-June 2 in Australia against that nation’s national team because Blue Devil players did not perform up to Coach Mike Krzyzewski’s expectations in the classroom.

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The Bobcats, Dragons and Raptors are the finalists in the national name-the-team contest for Toronto’s new NBA franchise.

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Jerry Tarkanian told San Diego State he does not want to become the school’s basketball coach.

“I’m disappointed,” Fred Miller, San Diego State’s athletic director, said.

Aztec assistant coaches John Harrick Jr. and James Holland were interviewed for the job Monday.

Football

The Rams met the contract guidelines for free-agent linebacker Joe Kelly and defensive end Robert Young on Monday, and could have both players signed as soon as today.

Jay Zygmunt, Rams senior vice president, met with Steve Feldman, agent for Young and Kelly, and made the offers for both players.

The Rams offered Young, a restricted free agent, a three-year deal worth $3.5 million. Kelly was offered a one-year deal worth $500,000.

Florida State University police assigned two full-time and three part-time investigators to examine accusations that Seminole football players took illegal payments from unregistered sports agents.

Tennis

Michael Chang struggled past Patrick Rafter, 6-3, 3-6, 7-5, at the Italian Open in Rome, on a day when most major matches were washed out at the $2-million clay-court tournament.

Lindsay Davenport, a senior at Murrieta Valley High, is ranked 10th this week on the WTA Tour. She is the first U.S. woman to enter the top 10 since Jennifer Capriati in 1990.

Boxing

Mark Johnson (19-1, 12 knockouts) knocked out Javier Juarez (19-13-1) of Mexico in the third round of a scheduled 12-round flyweight bout at the Forum.

In a 10-round superflyweight bout, Cecilio Espino (28-3-1, 24 knockouts) of Los Angeles stopped Jesse Miranda of Phoenix after seven rounds.

Miscellany

Wayne Gretzky of the Kings is a finalist for the NHL’s Lady Byng Trophy for sportsmanship and gentlemanly conduct for the 10th time. He has won the award twice.

Russian Viatcheslav Ekimov rode to a dominating time trial victory and moved into the race lead in the fifth stage of the Tour DuPont. Ekimov completed the 22.9-mile Salem-to-Roanoke route in Virginia in 57 minutes 17 seconds.

Sarah Miniman, a 17-year-old Warren Township, N.J., high school student, escaped serious injury when struck in the left jaw by a javelin during track practice.

The Los Angeles Blades of Roller Hockey International will hold training camp May 16-31 at the Forum and will open their season on June 5 at The Pond of Anaheim.

Names in the News

Mike Marshall, who won the Cy Young Award in 1974 as a member of the Dodgers, was fired after one season as baseball coach at West Texas A&M.; . . . Claudio Caniggia, playing his first game in more than a year after a drug suspension, scored the go-ahead goal to lead AS Roma of Italy to a 3-1 exhibition victory over River Plate of Argentina in Buenos Aires. . . . Harry O’Boyle, 89, who played on Knute Rockne’s 1924 national championship team at Notre Dame, died of cancer in Wheeling, W.Va. . . . Chuck Taylor, 74, who participated in the Rose Bowl first as a Stanford football player and later as coach and athletic director, died of cancer at Stanford University Hospital.