DURHAM, N.C. — Kyrie Irving‘s career at Duke has ended after 11 games in one injury-shortened season.
Irving, a point guard whose freshman season was interrupted for 3 1/2 months because of an injury to his right big toe, will enter the NBA draft and plans to hire an agent, Duke spokesman Matt Plizga said Wednesday. Irving, who averaged 17.5 points and 4.3 assists per game, is expected to be one of the top picks in the draft.
• North Carolina junior center Tyler Zeller and sophomore forward John Henson announced they are passing on the NBA for another run at a national championship.
• Kansas will have junior guard Tyshawn Taylor and sophomore forward Thomas Robinson for at least one more season.
• Former Metro State College coach and Nuggets assistant Mike Dunlap is one of four finalists for the vacant coaching position at UNLV. Former Runnin’ Rebels players Dave Rice and Reggie Theus, and former Oregon coach Ernie Kent also are finalists to succeed Lon Kruger, who left the Rebels on Friday to take over at Oklahoma.
• BYU coach Dave Rose, who is 159-45 with the Cougars, signed a five-year contract through the 2015-16 season.
• Kent State promoted Rob Senderoff to succeed Geno Ford as its coach.
• Eastern Michigan fired Charles Ramsey after he compiled a 68-118 record over six seasons.
Lockout ruling not imminent
ST. PAUL, Minn. — As she wrapped up a five-hour hearing on the legality of the NFL lockout, the federal judge overseeing the case said she would take “a couple of weeks” to rule on the players’ request to return to work.
U.S. District Judge Susan Richard Nelson, however, urged the two sides not to wait that long.
“It seems to me both sides are at risk, and now is a good time to come back to the table,” Nelson said, noting her willingness to facilitate the resumption of talks toward a new collective bargaining agreement that would put pro football back on track.
James Quinn, an attorney for the players, said they’d “listen carefully” to Nelson’s recommendation. But David Boies, a lawyer for the league, hedged when asked about Nelson’s offer to supervise talks.
“We don’t need a settlement of this lawsuit,” Boies said. “What we need is a collective bargaining agreement so that players can go on playing and the league can put on games. Until we have that, we’re not going to make any progress.”
Footnotes.
Miami Heat guard Dwyane Wade is day to day because of a bruised right thigh.
• South Carolina quarterback Stephen Garcia was suspended indefinitely from the football program for “unacceptable” behavior.
• Northern Illinois linebacker Devon Butler was in critical condition after being shot in DeKalb, Ill.
• Wayne Rooney scored in the 24th minute to give Manchester United a 1-0 soccer victory at Chelsea in the first leg of the Champions League quarterfinals, and Barcelona routed visiting Shakhtar Donetsk 5-1 to close in on a semifinal matchup with Real Madrid.
Denver Post wire services
