Barkley, Auriemma Among Hall Selections

Charles Barkley, Geno Auriemma and Dave Gavitt were the first-ballot selections who were officially elected Monday to the Basketball Hall of Fame.

They will join NBA stars Dominique Wilkins and Joe Dumars, whose election had been reported earlier, as well as Italian coach Sandro Gamba at the September induction in Springfield, Mass.

Barkley was an undersized power forward known as “The Round Mound of Rebound” and “Sir Charles.” He averaged 22.1 points and nearly 12 rebounds in a 16-year career with Philadelphia, Phoenix and Houston. He was the league’s most valuable player in 1993.

“I think basketball has given me every single thing in life,” he said. “Hey, I’m 43 and I’ve never had a real job, and I hope I never do.”

Added Wilkins, a former Georgia standout and nine-time NBA All-Star whose flamboyant dunks resulted in the nickname “The Human Highlight Film”: “Charles and I go back since college. None of us thought this would happen, we just wanted to play basketball. This is the highest honor that can ever be paid, and it’s mind-blowing.”

Unlike Barkley, Wilkins was left off the NBA’s 50th anniversary team.

“The 50 greatest players don’t matter when you’re in the Hall of Fame,” Wilkins said. “We all know that I was not one of the 50 greatest, I was one of the 25 greatest -- in my mind.”

Auriemma, who has won five national titles with the Huskies and is closing in on his 600th victory, was surprisingly quiet after the announcement.

“For someone who spends a lot of time talking, I can’t express in words what this means,” he whispered to the crowd in a barely audible voice.

As coach at Providence, Gavitt had eight consecutive 20-victory seasons. He later helped establish the Big East Conference and was instrumental in the expansion of the NCAA tournament to 64 teams and the increase of network television coverage of the event.

Among those who failed to get enough votes were former players Ralph Sampson and Adrian Dantley, former coaches Gene Keady and Don Nelson, and ESPN analyst Dick Vitale.

Shaquille O’Neal took aim at referees and at Stu Jackson, the NBA senior vice president of basketball operations, over the five fouls he got in Miami’s loss to New Jersey on Sunday.

“That was the most ridiculous game I’ve ever been part of,” O’Neal said after the Heat’s 90-78 loss. “When you got a guy like Stu Jackson at the top, it shows why referees are the way they are. It starts at the top.

“There was a lot of flopping today and they just fell for it.”

The NBA said it was reviewing the comments.

Rasheed Wallace of the Detroit Pistons was given an automatic one-game suspension after receiving his 16th technical foul, Sunday against Phoenix.

Wallace will sit out against New Orleans tonight. He will get a one-game suspension after every two technical fouls he gets the remainder of the season.

COLLEGE BASKETBALL

Sendek to Coach at Arizona State

Herb Sendek, 43, was introduced as Arizona State men’s coach after receiving a five-year deal. The school would not disclose his salary. Sendek is 258-158 in 13 seasons as coach, the last 10 at North Carolina State, where he was 191-132.

Furman men’s Coach Larry Davis said he is going to Cincinnati to become associate coach to Mick Cronin.

JURISPRUDENCE

SuperSonics’ Lewis Pleads Guilty

Seattle SuperSonic forward Rashard Lewis pleaded guilty to reckless driving and was given a one-year suspended sentence, five months after he failed a sobriety test during a stop on Interstate 90.

Lewis initially pleaded not guilty to drunk driving. He reached the plea deal with prosecutors after a King County (Wash.) district judge ruled the breath tests weren’t admissible.

Under the terms of the agreement, Lewis will serve 24 hours of community service, two years of probation and pay $175 to reimburse authorities for emergency response costs.

MISCELLANY

French Open Tennis to Give Equal Prizes

The French Open will give equal prize money, $1.13 million, to the men’s and women’s winners for the first time, the French Tennis Federation said.

Overall, excluding mixed doubles, the men’s field will still take home more: $8.09 million compared with $7.41 million for women.

Virginia Ruano Pascual of Spain beat No. 10-seeded Nathalie Dechy of France, 7-6 (2), 6-4, in the first round of the Bausch & Lomb Championships at Amelia Island, Fla. Jill Craybas beat No. 12 Jelena Jankovic, who retired because of leg cramps.

The Cincinnati Bengals signed unrestricted free-agent defensive tackle Sam Adams, to a three-year contract. Financial terms were not disclosed.

The Miami Dolphins re-signed running back Sammy Morris to a one-year contract.

PASSINGS

NFL Official Hadhazy Dies at 62

Peter Hadhazy, a former general manager of the Cleveland Browns and the NFL’s director of game operations, died Monday after a brief illness, the league said. He was 62.