Ex-Baylor Coach Johnson Cleared, but Assistants Convicted

Former Baylor basketball coach Darrel Johnson was acquitted Wednesday of fraud and conspiracy charges, but three assistants were convicted of fraud in connection with their recruitment of five junior college players in 1993.

A federal jury in Waco, Tex., found that although Johnson was responsible for the basketball program, he was unaware of improper help his assistants gave to enable the recruits to pass classes they needed to enroll at Baylor.

Johnson, indicted one day after Baylor fired him in November, was acquitted of all seven counts: four counts of wire fraud, two of mail fraud and a count of conspiracy.

His assistants, however, were found guilty of various charges:

--Gary Thomas was convicted of three counts of wire fraud and one count of conspiracy. He was acquitted on three counts of wire fraud and one count of mail fraud.

--Troy Drummond was convicted of three counts of mail fraud, one count of wire fraud and one of conspiracy. He was acquitted of three counts of wire fraud.

--Kevin Gray was convicted of two counts of wire fraud and a count of conspiracy.

The assistant coaches face up to five years in prison and fines of up to $250,000 on each of the wire fraud and mail fraud counts.

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Two 300-pound Clemson offensive linemen, Dwayne Morgan and Anthony Perez Arnez Davis, have admitted to robbing a fellow student of $7, the university police chief said. If convicted, they face a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison.

Football

The New York Giants signed free agent linebacker Mike Croel, who played his first four seasons with the Denver Broncos, to an $850,000, one-year contract and waived linebacker Carlton Bailey.

The Giants also re-signed tight end-blocking back Aaron Pierce to a $3.25-million, three-year deal.

Names in the News

Conchita Martinez of Spain, coming off a big victory last week at Hilton Head Island, S.C., defeated Sweden’s Asa Carlsson, 6-1, 6-2, in the rain and wind to advance to the third round of the Bausch & Lomb Championships at Amelia Island, Fla. . . . Magic Johnson scored 20 points and grabbed 12 rebounds as his touring all-star team defeated the Japanese national team, 110-68, at Nagoya in the second of a four-game series. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar scored 12 points and grabbed four rebounds in his second game for the club. . . . Julian Hammond, a 6-foot-3 guard who averaged 37.4 points last season at Aurora, Colo., Christian Academy, has made an oral commitment to play basketball at Loyola Marymount. . . . Kent Steffes, one of the most dominant players on the pro beach volleyball tour, is expected to sit out four to eight weeks after shoulder surgery. . . . Forward Peter Vermes, a former captain of the U.S. national soccer team, has agreed to a multiyear contract with Major League Soccer.