Thurman Opts For NBA Draft

Three more prominent underclassmen--forwards Scotty Thurman of Arkansas, Rodrick Rhodes of Kentucky and Chris Carr of Southern Illinois--decided Tuesday to make themselves eligible for the NBA draft.

Earlier, Joe Smith of Maryland, the college player of the year; Corliss Williamson, Thurman’s teammate at Arkansas; Gary Trent of Ohio, and Mario Bennett of Arizona State had announced that they would pass up their remaining college eligibility.

Players must disclose their intentions by 11:59 p.m. on May 14 if they intend to become available for the draft, scheduled June 28 at Toronto.

Thurman, 6 feet 6 and 210 pounds, averaged 15.4 points and 3.9 rebounds a game last season. Carr, 6-6 and 200, averaged 22 points and seven rebounds last season and was voted Missouri Valley Conference player of the year. Rhodes, 6-7, was a third-team All-Southeastern Conference selection each of the last two years.

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Bob Hawking, Cal State Fullerton’s interim basketball coach, was hired permanently.

Hawking, 45, will get a three-year contract and retain assistant coaches George Fuller, George Tuttle and Jeff Dunlap.

Hawking was an assistant for two years under Brad Holland, who resigned in September to become coach at the University of San Diego. Hawking led the Titans to a 7-20 record last season.

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Paul Thomas, interim women’s basketball coach at Cal Poly Pomona, was hired permanently. Thomas, who guided the Broncos to a 10-15 record last season, succeeded Darlene May, who was forced to retire last spring because of cancer.

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Point guard Tyus Edney, who helped lead UCLA to the NCAA title, was voted winner of the Frances Pomeroy Naismith Award honoring the top college senior shorter than 6 feet.

The 5-10 Edney finished his college career as the Bruins’ all-time leader in steals with 224, and was second in assists with 652 and 13th in scoring.

He was selected for the award, named for James Naismith’s daughter-in-law, by a panel of the National Assn. of Basketball Coaches.

Football

The Detroit Lions signed unrestricted free-agent quarterbacks Don Majkowski and Don Hollas to back up Scott Mitchell.

Majkowski, who led the NFL in passing in 1989, played the last two years with the Indianapolis Colts, mostly as a backup. Last season, he started six games and passed for 1,010 yards and six touchdowns with seven interceptions.

Hollas played the last four seasons with Cincinnati after being drafted by the Bengals in the fourth round in 1991.

The Colts matched a $1.9-million, three-year contract the expansion Carolina Panthers offered safety Jason Belser, a restricted free agent. The offer included a $300,000 signing bonus and a base salary of $500,000 for next season.

Tennis

Amy Frazier, who won the Japan Open last weekend, was selected by captain Billie Jean King to replace ailing Lindsay Davenport on the U.S. Fed Cup team.

Frazier, whose ranking rose to 16th after she won her fifth title, joins Mary Joe Fernandez and doubles partners Martina Navratilova and Gigi Fernandez for the first-round match with Austria this weekend at Aventura, Fla.

The sixth-ranked Davenport withdrew after contracting food poisoning.

Defending champion and top-seeded Michael Chang defeated Jakob Hlasek of Switzerland, 6-1, 6-3, in the first round of the Hong Kong Open.

Horse Racing

Larry The Legend underwent surgery to remove a bone chip that will keep him out of the Kentucky Derby on May 6.

The Mirage racing book in Las Vegas made Wood Memorial winner Talkin Man and 1994 2-year-old champion Timber Country Derby co-favorites at 4-1.

Yachting

The America’s Cup came up with another dubious distinction when one race was postponed because the wind was blowing too hard and the second race was called off when the wind dropped to practically nothing.

It was the first time since multiple challenges began in 1970 that such extremes have visited the race courses on the same day.

Both races were rescheduled for today off San Diego.

Skiing

Aspen Skiing Co., which has played host to more ski races than any other American resort since the World Cup was organized in 1967, announced it would not stage its traditional America’s downhill races next March because of a change in marketing direction for the Colorado resort.

U.S. Skiing officials said a search has begun for another venue.

Miscellany

Retired race driver Richard Petty, 57, was listed in good condition after undergoing surgery for prostate cancer at a Greensboro, N.C., hospital.

Portland State will seek admission to the Big Sky Athletic Conference and would move up to NCAA Division I if accepted.

Civil rights leader Jesse Jackson announced plans to convene a national meeting on racial issues in college athletics June 23-24 at Howard University in Washington.