Notre Dame Expected to Name Kansas Aide Doherty as Coach

Notre Dame finally filled its basketball coaching vacancy Monday, reportedly hiring Kansas assistant Matt Doherty as its new coach.

Notre Dame officials scheduled a news conference today to name the new coach, but declined to say Monday who it is.

Fox Sports Net and television station WNDU reported Monday night that Doherty had been hired.

Doherty, 37, considered playing at Notre Dame but was recruited to play at North Carolina by then-Tar Heels assistant Roy Williams. The 6-foot-8 Doherty played forward on the 1982 national championship team with Michael Jordan and James Worthy.

After graduation, he worked as a government bond salesmen in New York and later was a part-time analyst on the Davidson College basketball radio network.

Doherty was hired as an assistant coach at Davidson before the 1989-90 season, serving there three years before coming to Kansas.

During his seven seasons at Kansas, he has helped the Jayhawks sign eight McDonald’s All-Americans.

Gonzaga Coach Dan Monson and Xavier Coach Skip Prosser were thought to be front-runners for the job after meeting with Notre Dame officials over the weekend.

Delaware’s Mike Brey, Siena’s Paul Hewitt and Princeton’s Bill Carmody all have interviewed with the Irish since John MacLeod resigned under pressure March 9.

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Michigan State assistant Tom Crean reportedly is the choice to replace Mike Deane as coach at Marquette. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported that Crean, who helped guide the Spartans to the Final Four, will be hired this week.

A Marquette spokesman said no announcement is planned and confirmed that Athletic Director Bill Cords was still at the Final Four.

Crean, 32, has been at Michigan State for the last four seasons after a year at Pittsburgh.

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The New Mexico basketball team says it’s behind new Coach Fran Fraschilla, and point guard John Robinson says reports of his departure have been blown not only out of proportion--but out of the water.

“I’m not going anywhere,” said Robinson, who last week told a Houston television station he was considering transferring because former Lobo coach Dave Bliss was gone.

Now, says Robinson, “I’m not going to leave. I was thinking about it, but now we got Coach Fraschilla. I’m not going anywhere.

“We’re all starting new. I just can’t wait for the first day.”

Lobo junior Lamont Long said Fraschilla’s appointment won’t stop him from making himself available for the NBA draft in June, but Fraschilla said Long would do well to stick around for a year.

“If he stays,” the new coach said, “I will enhance his draft status.”

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Guy Beach has announced he will remain at Weber State as an assistant coach, which means star players Harold Arceneaux and Eddie Gill will also stay.

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This weekend’s Final Four games provided more of the same for CBS: lackluster contests and tumbling ratings.

Saturday night’s semifinals each dropped 10% from last year’s overnight ratings. Even though both games were somewhat close at times, neither offered the suspense that CBS wanted.

The tournament to date, with a 6.3 rating and 14 share, is down 5% from last season.

“I don’t think that anyone who watched the second game between Duke and Michigan State really believed that the game was in doubt,” CBS Sports President Sean McManus.

There have been fewer buzzer-beaters and more blowouts than in the past.

Saturday’s Connecticut-Ohio State early game posted a 9.4 and a 20 share. In 1998, Kentucky’s victory over Stanford gained a 10.5/22.

Duke’s win against Michigan State had a 10.7/18, compared with the 11.9/21 for the Utah-North Carolina game.