Sendek Named N.C. State Coach

Herb Sendek, who coached Miami of Ohio to a postseason berth in each of his three seasons at the school, became the new basketball coach at North Carolina State on Tuesday.

Sendek, 33, a former assistant to Rick Pitino at Kentucky, will replace Les Robinson, who resigned March 22 after six seasons as the Wolfpack’s coach.

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Mississippi State junior Dontae’ Jones has hired an agent, effectively ending his collegiate basketball career. . . . Vitaly Potapenko, a junior center at Wright State, said he would declare for the NBA draft but is not sure he wants to give up his final year of college eligibility. Potapenko, a native Ukrainian, has not hired an agent and may withdraw from consideration up to 48 hours before the draft.

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The NCAA has opened an inquiry into the Weber State men’s basketball program and allegations of recruiting inducements to prospective athletes and extra benefits to enrolled athletes.

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Two former Cal State Stanislaus basketball players claim they received A grades for a physical education class neither attended, the Modesto Bee reported.

Undrae Walker, a reserve forward, said he got an A in 1993 for a course called “Theory of Coaching Basketball,” and a player who requested anonymity said he got an A in the course in 1989.

Auto Racing

Michael Andretti was put on probation by CART, which also fined driver Christian Fittipaldi and two racing teams.

Andretti, who also was put on probation last year, was punished for his actions in three of the last four CART Indy car races. Two of the incidents occurred Sunday at Long Beach and involved contact with PacWest drivers Mauricio Gugelmin and Teo Fabi.

The crews of Andretti’s Newman-Haas team and the PacWest team were fined $5,000. Fittipaldi was fined $5,000 for grabbing and pushing Greg Moore after their cars collided at Long Beach.

Gymnastics

Vitaly Scherbo and Ivan Ivankov of Belarus finished in the top five spots in five of the six apparatuses in the preliminary round at the World Gymnastics Championships at San Juan, Puerto Rico.

Four American men reached the semifinals: Chainey Umphrey and Bill Roth finished 11th and 12th, respectively, in the high bar; Stephen McCain was 13th in the floor exercise; and Chris LaMorte tied for third in the rings.

Jurisprudence

A Phoenix judge ordered former Arizona Cardinal Luis Sharpe arrested for failing to undergo a drug test ordered as part of the condition of his release while facing drug and assault charges.

Dominique Wilkins, a former NBA star, was not in a Bahamas court to answer accusations he paid $100,000 in a 1991 cocaine deal that went bad. Wilkins remained in Greece, where he now plays, and sent two lawyers to represent him.

Gea Johnson, a former NCAA heptathlon champion at Arizona State, has filed a $12-million lawsuit against track and field’s international ruling body, seeking to overturn a four-year drug suspension.

Miscellany

John McEnroe, who holds U.S. Davis Cup records for victories and years on team, assailed today’s American stars for their indifference to what he thinks is one of the most important events in tennis.

“Let’s face it, you are playing for your country,” he said. “How often does that happen? I don’t understand why there is even an issue. But apparently there is.”

Bayern Munich and Girondins Bordeaux advanced to the final of soccer’s UEFA Cup by winning their semifinal games.

Tuesday night’s college baseball game between No. 1 Cal State Fullerton and No. 2 USC was postponed by rain. It will be played tonight at 7 p.m. at Dedeaux Field.

Names in the News

Quarterback John Elway signed a five-year, $29.5-million contract with the Denver Broncos. . . . Uta Pippig, the women’s champion in Monday’s Boston Marathon, was hospitalized for tests because of stomach problems, according to her coach, Dieter Hogan. . . . The U.S. Figure Skating Assn. says it will no longer give media credentials to Christine Brennan of the Washington Post because of allegedly biased reporting. Brennan denied the allegations. . . . As expected, Mighty Duck Coach Ron Wilson was named coach of the U.S. team for the World Championships, which start Sunday in Vienna. . . . Defenseman Rob Blake of the Kings is on Team Canada’s roster and defenseman Mattias Norstrom is on the roster for Team Sweden for the World Cup tournament, to be played Aug. 26-Sept. 14 in Canada, the U.S. and Europe. Center Robert Lang was named to the Czech team. . . . Former heavyweight champion Larry Holmes, 46, showed little mobility but won a 10-round unanimous decision over Quinn Navarre at Bay St. Louis, Miss.