In This Deal, Radja May Leave Country

Dino Radja appears headed to a team in Greece, a deal that could be completed by the weekend and free up nearly $3 million for the Boston Celtics, Coach Rick Pitino said.

Radja was scheduled to make about $5.6 million next season and is under contract to Boston for three years. “[If he leaves] we would have about $2.8 million to work with,” Pitino said.

The Celtics traded Radja to Philadelphia, but Radja failed his physical and the deal was nullified.

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Indiana Pacer guard Jalen Rose, who earlier in the week was detained at the Detroit Metropolitan Airport after allegedly spitting gum at a Northwest Airlines female worker, called the incident a “slight misunderstanding.”

“I think it got a little blown out of proportion,” Rose said. “There were apologies made both ways.”

Rose was taken off one flight to Indianapolis but was later given a ticket for another flight.

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A year ago, the Wooden Classic’s future was unclear because it was uncertain whether UCLA would play in the event annually. Now, the tournament is expanding to include a high school tripleheader on Thursday, Dec. 4.

The college doubleheader will be held on Saturday, Dec. 6.

Five of the six teams competing in the high school school invitational are from Southern California--Mater Dei, Los Alamitos, Ayala, Crespi and Glendora. Hyattsville (Md.) DeMatha Catholic will be the only out-of-state school. DeMatha, coached by the legendary Morgan Wootten, is traditionally one of the top programs in the country.

A matchup of Mater Dei and DeMatha would have been a big draw, but Mater Dei will face Crespi because those two schools were already scheduled to play in another tournament on Dec. 4. DeMatha will face Los Alamitos, which it defeated in Maryland in 1990.

The Saturday portion of the Wooden Classic has Stanford facing Georgia and UCLA playing New Mexico. UCLA has also committed to play in the 1998 Wooden Classic.