Mihm Ready to Cast His Lot With NBA

Chris Mihm, Texas’ All-American center, announced Friday he will skip his senior season and declared himself eligible for the NBA draft June 28.

The 7-foot center is projected as a top-five pick, which played a major role in his decision, Mihm said.

“In the end, the timing just seemed right,” he added. “I realize I have a lot to learn, but I’m ready for the next challenge. I feel I’m ready to fulfill my lifelong dream.”

Mihm averaged nearly 18 points and 10.5 rebounds in leading the Longhorns to a 24-9 record. He holds the school record with 264 blocked shots and ranks second with 945 rebounds.

Longhorn Coach Rick Barnes, who took over the team when Mihm was a sophomore, said he did not advise Mihm.

“I told him I couldn’t make that decision for him,” said Barnes, who sat next to Mihm at the news conference. “I do believe he’s just scratched the surface of his talent.”

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Cincinnati point guard Kenny Satterfield changed his mind and said he will return for his sophomore season rather than declare for the NBA draft. . . . Doug Wrenn, dismissed from Connecticut’s basketball program by Coach Jim Calhoun two weeks ago after a variety of incidents, might be headed back to Seattle to play for his hometown University of Washington. “There is definitely an open door,” Husky Coach Bob Bender told the Seattle Post-Intelligencer. . . . Jamila Veasley, a 6-1 forward who averaged 14 points and eight rebounds at Cerritos Valley Christian High last season, has signed a letter of intent to play for UCLA next season.

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Pat Douglass, who guided the UC Irvine men’s basketball team to a 14-14 record last season, received a contract extension through the 2003-04 season. The Anteaters reached the .500 mark for the first time in four years and only the second time in the last 12. . . . Colleen Matsuhara, former UC Irvine coach and Spark assistant, has been named an assistant for the USC women’s basketball team.

Tennis

Australian teenager Lleyton Hewitt punctuated his victory with an ace--his 12th of the match--as he defeated clay-court specialist Mariano Puerta to move into the semifinals of the Italian Open at Rome.

The ninth-seeded Hewitt defeated his Argentine foe, 6-3, 3-6, 6-1, to set up a showdown against third-seeded Magnus Norman of Sweden, who defeated Felix Mantilla, 6-4, 6-3.

Dominik Hrbaty was ousted a day after upsetting Andre Agassi. And exactly as Agassi had done, Hrbaty double-faulted on match point as he lost to Alex Corretja, 6-1, 7-6 (5). In another quarterfinal, Gustavo Kuerten of Brazil, seeded fourth, defeated Spain’s Albert Costa, 6-4, 7-5.

For the second consecutive day, top-ranked Martina Hingis of Switzerland struggled at the German Open at Berlin, but still managed to win, 7-5, 5-7, 6-2, over Sandrine Testud of France to reach the semifinals.

Third-seeded Conchita Martinez and No. 10 Amanda Coetzer cruised in straight sets.

Martinez ousted fellow Spaniard Gala Leon Garcia, 6-4, 6-2, and will play Hingis in the semifinals. Coetzer defeated eighth-seeded Anke Huber of Germany, 6-4, 6-4. She will play South African countrywoman Joannette Kruger, who defeated Russia’s Elene Dementieva, 2-6, 6-3, 7-6 (5).

UCLA’s Brandon Kramer will miss NCAA tournament play after breaking his wrist during practice Wednesday. . . . The No. 9 UCLA women’s team defeated Boston University, 6-0, in the first round of the NCAA regional at the Los Angeles Tennis Center. The Bruins face Georgia Tech in today’s regional final at 3 p.m. . . . The No. 7 Pepperdine women’s team defeated Drake, 5-0, at a regional it is hosting. The Waves play Louisiana State today at 3 p.m.

Miscellany

A Douglas County Court judge in Castle Rock, Colo., agreed to allow eight more felony drug counts against Julie Romanowski, wife of Denver Bronco linebacker Bill Romanowski, already accused of conspiring to obtain a prescription diet drug for her husband.

The two halves of the former Czechoslovakia will meet in a historic final Sunday at the World Hockey Championships at St. Petersburg, Russia. The world champion Czech Republic defeated Canada, 2-1, in one semifinal after Slovakia had upset Finland in the other, 3-1.

Jockey Richard Migliore appealed the five-day suspension handed down Wednesday by Churchill Downs stewards for careless riding aboard Wheelaway in the Kentucky Derby. The appeal will allow Migliore to continue riding. Chief Steward Bernie Hettel said a hearing will be scheduled next week.

Defending CART champion Juan Montoya won his second pole in four champ car races for today’s Firestone Firehawk 500 at Motegi, Japan. The 24-year-old Colombian took his Lola around the 1.549-mile Twin Ring Motegi oval at a qualifying speed of 212.540 mph. . . . Bobby Hamilton, a winner the last time he competed in the NASCAR truck series, knocked Greg Biffle’s Ford off the provisional pole as the final driver to qualify at Millington, Tenn. The Nashville native lapped the three-quarter-mile oval at an average speed of 118.043 mph.

Brent Williams, the Maple Grove High (N.Y.) baseball player who hit five home runs in a game earlier this week, got into the record book again Thursday with a 400-foot homer--his sixth in six plate appearances. That tied a record held by Timothy Morgan of Northwest Whitfield, Ga., and Bob Squires of Waterloo Dekalb, Ind. . . . A freshman basketball player died after collapsing during a tryout for the Gulfport High (Miss.) team. The preliminary autopsy report showed 15-year-old Jamal Ricks had congestive heart failure, coroner Gary Hargrove said. . . . Tommy Johnson of Crenshaw High and Ebony Hoffman of Harbor City Narbonne, City Section basketball players of the year, will participate in the Scholastic Hoops Jam boys’ and girls’ all-star games tonight at L.A. Southwest College. The games pit players from the City Section against those from the Southern Section. The girls’ game is at 6, the boys’ at 7:30.

Former junior-lightweight champion John John Molina scored a unanimous decision over Emmanuel Burton at Miami.