Johnson Aims for NBA but Won’t Hire Agent

Amir Johnson, a 6-foot-10 center who led Westchester to the state Division I boys’ basketball title, will make himself eligible for the NBA draft although he won’t hire an agent, Louisville Coach Rick Pitino told ESPN.com.

Johnson, who averaged 20 points and 10 rebounds last season, is one of seven recruits signed by Louisville.

“He needs to get his SAT score up,” Pitino said of Johnson’s becoming eligible to play as a freshman. “If he gets his score up, he’ll come to Louisville. He would go [to the NBA] if he was a first-round draft choice. He’s not a first-round draft choice.”

If Johnson keeps his name in the draft but isn’t selected, he’d be eligible for college play if he doesn’t retain an agent.

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Swimming

Irvine University, which finished fourth behind defending champion Corona del Mar last season, outdueled its Pacific Coast League rival Saturday at Belmont Plaza in Long Beach to pull out a 252-248 victory in the Southern Section Division II girls’ championships.

The runner-up Sea Kings set two meet records and six school records. Fullerton Sunny Hills finished third with 170 points.

“They’re our rivals and we knew we were going to have to swim our best to beat them. I thought I gave it everything I had,” said Lara Stouffer, a University freshman who recorded lifetime bests in two events.

The La Canada boys claimed their first title as junior Andrew Nguyen (1:42.26) won the 200 freestyle. The Spartans scored 229 points to beat second-place San Luis Obispo with 206 points.

“Today was all about us performing,” said Nguyen, who recorded lifetime bests in the 200 and the 500 freestyles (4:36.09), where he placed third behind the only double winner in the boys’ meet, Riverside Poly sophomore Scott Clary. Clary was timed in 4:34.55 in the 500 and won the backstroke in 51.82.

Senior Sean Boyle won his fifth and sixth individual titles during the Division III boys’ swimming championships at Belmont Plaza, and he led the Murrieta Valley boys to their fourth consecutive title.

The Nighthawk girls made it a Murrieta Valley sweep for the second year in a row despite not winning a single event and, as the boys’ team did, getting disqualified in a relay.

Boyle won individual titles in the 100 freestyle in 46.06 seconds and the 200 freestyle (1:39.60), and also anchored the Nighthawks’ winning 200 freestyle relay team (1:27.14) that included Eric Weaver, Michael Flanagan and Justin Koeppen.

Murrieta Valley scored 258 points to outpace runner-up Palos Verdes with 197 points.

Corona Santiago’s Courtney Kilkuts defended titles in the 200 individual medley (2:03.26) and the 100 breaststroke (1:04.65).

Lauren Peterson

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Baseball

Two-time defending champion Chatsworth (26-3) was seeded first and the team the Chancellors beat for the West Valley League title, Woodland Hills El Camino Real (24-6), was seeded second in the Championship Division of the City Section playoffs.

Top first-round matchups include Northern League champion Los Angeles Franklin (19-2-1) against Eastern League champion and fourth-seeded South Gate (28-4) and Eastern runner-up Roosevelt (22-7) against Valley Mission League champion at third-seeded Granada Hills Kennedy (24-7).