Pistons Acquire Leckner From 76ers

The Detroit Pistons, trying to add frontline depth, acquired center Eric Leckner from the Philadelphia 76ers for a second-round draft choice in 1996 or ’97.

The 76ers will receive the lesser of the Pistons’ two ’96 draft picks, unless that selection goes to Denver as part of an earlier trade. If the Nuggets get the ’96 choice, Philadelphia will get the second of the three picks Detroit has in the ’97 draft.

“Adding an experienced 27-year-old NBA center to our roster should help us,” said Billy McKinney, Detroit’s director of player personnel. “He will contribute in areas (where) we were deficient last year.”

Leckner, 6-foot-11, averaged 5.1 points and 4.0 rebounds a game last season. He spent the 1992-93 season in Italy, where he averaged 18.9 points and 11.7 rebounds.

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Elton Scott, Kentucky’s Mr. Basketball as a high school player, will be ineligible for his freshman season at Louisville because he has failed to meet academic requirements.

Academic shortcomings already have forced Louisville recruit Tyrone Nesby of Cairo, Ill., to enroll at Vincennes University.

Jurisprudence

University of Miami linebacker Rohan Marley pleaded innocent to a charge of aggravated assault against a police officer. The junior, who led the Hurricanes in tackles last season, entered a written plea to the charge stemming from his arrest early July 4. He was accused of trying to hit a Miami Beach officer with his pickup truck. If convicted, Marley could face up to 15 years in prison and a $10,000 fine.

Attorneys for the defendants in Bryan Fortay’s suit against Miami, claiming that the school hurt his chances of becoming a professional quarterback, sought to have the action dismissed.

Fortay filed suit last August against the university and several officials, alleging broken promises and negligence that involved him in a financial-aid fraud scandal.

Prosecutors in Detroit could decide within the week whether to seek charges against New Jersey Nets star Derrick Coleman, who is accused of raping a woman at a Detroit hotel. Police forwarded the case to Wayne County prosecutors Monday, according to Benny Napoleon, deputy chief of police. Coleman has denied the allegations.