Traylor Reportedly Going Pro

Robert Traylor plans to pass up his senior season at Michigan and declare himself eligible for the NBA draft, a newspaper reported Thursday in Ann Arbor, Mich.

The 6-foot-8, 300-pound center scheduled a news conference for today at his alma mater, Murray-Wright High School in Detroit.

Traylor and Michigan Coach Brian Ellerbe were unavailable for comment Thursday, Michigan spokeswoman Shareia Carter said.

But according to the Ann Arbor News, Ellerbe said “it’s pretty safe to say” that the player intends to jump to the NBA.

“It’s a product of what we’re dealing with today in terms of the marquee player going on to the next level,” Ellerbe told the News from San Antonio, where he is attending the Final Four. “But he did say that he’s going to finish school this semester and make sure he’s in good standing so that he’s able to continue his education once he’s in the professional ranks.”

Traylor declared himself eligible for the draft last April amid extensive media coverage of his relationship with Wolverine booster Ed Martin, the central figure in internal and NCAA investigations of the Michigan program.

Traylor, who averaged 16.2 points and 10.1 rebounds, changed his mind after speaking with then-coach Steve Fisher, who was fired in October after the investigations revealed three minor NCAA rules violations.

Traylor earned first-team All-Big Ten honors from both coaches and media, and was named most valuable player of the conference’s inaugural postseason tournament after leading the Wolverines to the title.

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Texas Coach Tom Penders said he still hasn’t heard anything about his job status amid reports that he will leave the school or be reassigned.

A high-ranking university source told the Associated Press that Penders has been mulling a broadcasting job or being reassigned, following the release by assistant coach Eddie Oran of player Luke Axtell’s grade report to a radio station.

Penders won’t be back as coach at Texas next year, the source said, adding that if he doesn’t decide to leave voluntarily, he’ll be reassigned within a few days.

“I have heard nothing about that [a broadcasting job],” Penders said in Austin, Texas. “I’ve done some TV and radio work in New York and for ESPN2, but I’ve never had a face-to-face meeting about a TV job.”

Four years remain on a five-year contract extension Penders received last year that pays him about $550,000 per season.

Penders also said he didn’t plan to step down but repeated that he would agree to be reassigned if that’s what the university wanted.

The fact that four starters, including Axtell, went to the home of Texas Athletic Director DeLoss Dodds on March 8 and said they no longer wanted to play for Penders also was a major factor in deciding the coach should go, the source said.

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Against the advice of a longtime NBA talent scout, Florida State center Randell Jackson plans to make himself eligible for the draft a year early.

The 6-11 Jackson, Florida State’s leading scorer this season with a 12.7 average, filed a formal letter with the NBA announcing his intentions despite the suggestion of Marty Blake, the NBA director of scouting.

“Jackson is not ready to play at our level,” Blake said. “The guy is a fair college basketball player.”

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After four losing seasons, former Coastal Carolina player Michael Hopkins gave up on turning around his alma mater and resigned as coach after an 8-19 season.

Hopkins, an NAIA district all-star with Coastal in 1983, was 30-76 since taking the coaching job in 1994. Athletic Director Buddy Sasser would not discuss the reasons for or details of Hopkins’ resignation with a year left on his contract.

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Utah men’s Coach Rick Majerus and Tennessee women’s Coach Pat Summit have been named recipients of the John and Nellie Wooden Award by a national panel of basketball coaches, executives and sportscasters.

The award, named for former UCLA coach John Wooden and his wife Nellie, represents excellence in college basketball coaching and long-standing ethics and integrity. It is sponsored by the Utah Tip Off Club.

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Businesses that cater to out-of-towners are expecting the Final Four to have a $13.9-million economic impact on San Antonio.

Downtown hotels have been sold out for weeks, gift shops are stocked with Final Four memorabilia and restaurants have been ordering extra supplies.

Steve Lundgren, general manager of the Marriott Riverwalk and Marriott Rivercenter hotels near the Alamodome, said he has brought in hotel managers from other cities to assist this weekend.