Holton Under Consideration at Portland

Michael Holton, the top assistant and recruiting coordinator for UCLA, is a leading candidate to become the next head basketball coach at the University of Portland, according to sources close to the situation.

Portland fired coach Rob Chavez over the weekend and is taking a hard look at Holton, who was an assistant coach at the school during the 1993-94 season and also played two seasons for the Portland Trail Blazers.

Holton, 39, a former UCLA player, is in his fifth season as member of the Bruin staff, which also includes assistants Jim Saia and Steve Spencer.

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Guard Billy Knight saw his run of sizzling Saturdays end against Stanford. He was limited to six points and missed both of his three-point attempts. In his previous four Saturday games, he averaged 19.8 points on 26-of-39 shooting (66.7%), beginning with a 22-point performance at Stanford last month.

“I think they scouted me real well this time,” Knight said, noting that a defender stuck with him to deny any kick-out passes by driving Bruin players.