Wilkens Likely Olympic Coach

Lenny Wilkens of the Atlanta Hawks, the winningest coach in NBA history, has been chosen to coach the U.S. men’s basketball team at the 1996 Olympics, the Atlanta-Journal Constitution reported today.

The newspaper said the vote was made by USA Basketball’s selection committee during a meeting at a Phoenix-area hotel, and the announcement will be made next week.

USA Basketball refused to confirm the move.

Larry Brown of the Indiana Pacers and Phil Jackson of the Chicago Bulls reportedly received serious consideration.

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Arthur Agee, whose life was chronicled in the documentary “Hoop Dreams,” became the first player to sign with the Florida Sharks of the U.S. Basketball League. Agee played at Arkansas State last season. . . . Forward David Vaughn has decided to pass up his senior year at Memphis, where he plays for his uncle, Coach Larry Finch, for the NBA draft. . . . Basketball Hall of Famers Bob Cousy and Jack Ramsay will coach a senior team of former NBA players who will represent the United States in the inaugural International Senior Games next year in Bermuda.

Golf

Brad Faxon, Steve Lowery and Vijay Singh each shot a seven-under-par 65 to share the first-round lead of the Greater Greensboro Open in North Carolina.

Only eight lower rounds have been shot on the Forest Oaks course since the tournament moved there in 1977. Ten eagles, including two holes in one, and more than 530 birdies were recorded by the 156-player field.

Mike Bradley hit a five-iron from 199 yards for an ace on No. 8, and Andy North used a six-iron from 192 yards for a hole in one on 12.

Pro Football

San Francisco 49er owner Edward DeBartolo Jr. remains hospitalized at Stanford after breaking his collarbone and suffering a bruised sternum and bruised ribs Wednesday in an auto collision on his way to the San Francisco International Airport. . . . The 1995 Super Bowl in Miami attracted more visiting fans (142,000) than any other title game in NFL history and pumped $204.5 million into South Florida, according to a report released by Barry University.

Tennis

Michael Chang lost a set at the Hong Kong Salem Open for the first time in two years. He won the match, though, beating German qualifier Alex Radulescu, 5-7, 6-3, 6-1. The victory put Chang, the defending champion, into the quarterfinals along with fellow American Jim Courier, Kenneth Carlsen of Denmark, Jan Apell of Sweden and Alexander Volkov of Russia. . . . Andrei Medvedev of Ukraine moved into the quarterfinals of the Nice Open in France by beating Javier Sanchez of Spain, 6-0, 6-3. . . . Helena Sukova and Jana Novotna won singles matches in La Manga, Spain, to lead the Czech Republic into the Fed Cup European-African zone semifinals with a 3-0 victory over Slovenia. In the three other quarterfinals, Belarus defeated Russia, 2-1; Hungary beat Latvia, 2-1, and Belgium trounced Romania, 3-0.

Soccer

David Seaman made three saves during a penalty-kicks shootout, enabling defending champion Arsenal to advance to the final of the European Cup Winners Cup despite a 3-2 loss to Sampdoria of Italy in Genoa. Arsenal made it into the shootout based on total goals scored. The English club will play Real Zaragoza in the final at Paris on May 10. The Spanish team advanced, 4-3, on total goals despite a 3-1 loss at Chelsea in the other semifinal.

A Malaysian man was arrested in connection with attempts to bribe players at the FIFA World Youth Championship in Doha, Qatar. According to statements from some delegations, players from Burundi, Cameroon, Honduras and Portugal were approached. Prostitutes were also reportedly involved.

Names in the News

George Foreman weighed in at 256 pounds, six more than he was when he became the oldest heavyweight champion last November, for his International Boxing Federation title fight with Axel Schulz Saturday night in Las Vegas. Schulz weighed 221. . . . Nebraska’s Richard Grace, fourth a year ago, won the all-around title with 58.325 points to edge Brigham Young’s Darren Elg (57.975) at the NCAA men’s gymnastics championships in Columbus, Ohio.

Carrie Zarse won her third U.S. national title at the Phillips 66 National Diving Championships in Midland, Tex. . . . Former Miami Hurricane football player Brad Shirey has filed a lawsuit alleging that the university failed to appropriately evaluate a mass in his right hamstring that turned out to be cancerous. Chemotherapy and surgery eliminated the cancer.