UCLA men’s basketball coach Ben Howland accepted a
one-year contract extension on Tuesday that will keep him in
Westwood through the 2013 season. Howland left Pittsburgh to come
to UCLA two years ago, signing a seven-year deal with a base salary
of $900,000 per season. The contract included a perpetual rollover
clause that allows Howland the option to extend the contract for
another year at the same price. This is the second consecutive year
Howland has exercised this option. This past season, he guided the
Bruins to an 18-9 regular season record, a third place finish in
the Pac-10, and an NCAA Tournament berth.
MEN’S BASKETBALL: Washington guard Nate Robinson announced
that he plans to enter the NBA draft. “Deep down in my
heart,” he said, “I know the right decision is to skip
my senior year and enter the NBA draft.” Robinson was
selected to the All-Pac-10 team the last two seasons and was a
third-team Associated Press All-American this year. He said the
decision to leave his teammates wasn’t easy.
“It’s tough because of what we did and what we still
could do,” he said. “The sky’s the limit for the
upcoming Huskies. They’re going to be great.” Robinson
was Washington’s leading scorer at 16.4 points per game this
season as the Huskies set a school record with 29 victories. He was
All-Pac-10 as a sophomore in 2004 when the Huskies advanced to the
NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1999. Robinson considered
declaring for the NBA after last season, turning in a strong
showing at the Chicago Pre-Draft Camp. But he decided to return, in
part because he felt the Huskies could make it to the Final Four.
But Robinson had hinted strongly all season that this was likely to
be his last. He recently became a father and has talked of needing
to “provide for my family.”
ROWING: The Bruins’ two varsity eight squads went 4-2 and
the novice eight squad went undefeated at the Windermere Crew
Classic in Redwood Shores, Calif., this past weekend. The
13th-ranked Bruins split their pair of races on the day’s
first tournament at the varsity level, both knocking off Clemson
and falling to Virginia. They were impressive the second day, as
the top team beat Texas by over 10 seconds while the second team
finished 3.3 seconds faster. “Facing Virginia in the
afternoon was a great opportunity to step up a level,” coach
Amy Fuller said. “The momentum carried over to Sunday’s
race against Texas for both the varsity and second varsity
eight.” The novice eight squad, meanwhile, defeated Cal,
Washington and Clemson over the weekend. “The novice eight
team had a great weekend,” Fuller said. “We look
forward to seeing their contribution to the varsity squad in the
future.” The Bruins will compete against five other Southern
California teams this weekend when they host the Miller Cup.
DIVING: Freshman Brittany Renfrow was named Pac-10 Newcomer of
the Year. The Bakersfield native finished eighth in the three-meter
springboard at the Pac-10 Championships and 11th at the U.S.
Open.
From staff and wire reports.