$1.5-Million Bond Set in Camby Case

The man accused of sexually assaulting a sister of New York Knick star Marcus Camby and holding her and two other family members hostage was ordered held on $1.5-million bond in Manchester, Conn.

Troy Crooms was charged with kidnapping, sexual assault, burglary and possession of a weapon after Monday’s eight-hour standoff at Camby’s mother’s home. Authorities said little about a motive but did say the 28-year-old man was known to the family.

Crooms, who received a court-appointed defense attorney, did not speak and entered no plea during Tuesday’s brief court appearance.

Assistant State’s Attorney Adam Scott had urged Superior Court Judge Jorge Simon to imposed high bail, saying, “What we have here is a convicted felon, a sex offender, who is facing over 95 years in jail.”

Crooms is listed on the state’s database of sex offenders because of a 1993 conviction.

Rick Kaplan, Camby’s business manager, described him as distraught Monday night, saying he is a father figure to his sisters.

Camby did not attend the Knicks’ practice Tuesday. He plans to meet with the media about the hostage standoff when he rejoins the team today, Kaplan said.

*

John Starks sat out Game 2 of the Utah Jazz’s first-round playoff series against the Dallas Mavericks after undergoing “a minor medical procedure” for recent groin pain, the team said.

Starks, 35, was listed as questionable for Game 3 on Saturday at Dallas and probable for a possible Game 4, which would be played on Tuesday, if necessary.

Jazz Vice President Kevin O’Connor said the procedure was unrelated to abdominal pain that put Starks in the hospital overnight earlier this week.

*

Ken Mauer, an NBA referee convicted of tax evasion in an alleged airline ticket scheme that involved other officials, was sentenced to five months in jail and five months’ home detention in St. Paul, Minn.

Mauer, 45, was also sentenced to three years of supervised release and was ordered to perform 800 hours of community service, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

*

Three ties among teams finishing the 2000-01 season with identical records were broken through random drawings in New York to determine the order of selection for the upcoming NBA draft.

The draft will be held June 27 at the Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York.

Portland (50-32) won a tiebreaker with Miami and will select 19th in the first round. The Heat had traded its pick, the 20th, to Cleveland.

Dallas (53-29) won a tiebreaker with Utah. The Mavericks’ pick, the 23rd of the first round, was traded to Orlando. Utah’s pick, the 24th, may be conveyed to Boston through another deal.

Philadelphia (56-26) won a tiebreaker with the Lakers and will pick 26th. The Lakers’ pick, the 27th of the first round, has been traded to Vancouver, via New York.

*

The Boston Celtics’ Jim O’Brien officially had the interim removed from his coaching title after replacing Rick Pitino on Jan. 8.

Terms were not disclosed.