Sports briefs 4/25/06

Basketball

• Texas forward P.J. Tucker and Michigan State guard Shannon Brown said Monday they will submit their names for the NBA draft but won't hire agents in order to keep their college eligibility if they decide to return for their senior seasons.

"I believe the best thing for me at this time is to test the waters and see where I stand," said Tucker, the Big 12 player of the year.

George Washington junior guards Danilo Pinnock and Carl Elliott and Bradley sophomore center Patrick O'Bryant also entered the draft Monday. They also left open returns to college by not hiring agents, and have until June 18 to pull their names out of the June 28 draft.

The 6-foot-5 Tucker averaged 16.1 and 9.5 rebounds last season for Texas.

Brown averaged 17.2 points last season for Michigan State.

Colleges

• SMU hired former national coach of the year Matt Doherty on Monday to try reviving a program that hasn't gone to the NCAA tournament in 13 years.

Doherty signed a five-year deal, but terms weren't disclosed. Doherty, coming off a 15-13 season at Florida Atlantic, replaces Jimmy Tubbs, who was fired April 6 after two losing seasons and an internal investigation that uncovered NCAA violations.

"I look at this as a destination job," Doherty said. "I didn't want to take a job to take another job."

Doherty, who won a national championship as a player for North Carolina, broke into coaching with Notre Dame in 1999-2000. He took over the Tar Heels the next season and earned the coach of the year award from The Associated Press for going 26-7 and winning a share of the regular-season ACC title.

North Carolina missed the NCAA field the next two years, and Doherty resigned under pressure in April 2003. He worked as a television analyst for two years, then spent this past season at Florida Atlantic.

* Adam Knollmeyer, a 6-8 forward from Linn High School, on Monday signed a national letter of intent to play at Saint Louis University.

Knollmeyer, a Class 3A all-state selection by the Missouri Basketball Coaches Association, led his team to a 26-4 record. He averaged 18 points, 11 rebounds, four blocks and four assists.

Saint Louis signed 6-5 guard Dustin Maguire of Bethalto (Ill.) High School in the 2005 fall early signing period.

Football

• Ricky Manning Jr. joined the Chicago Bears on Monday, a day after the cornerback was arrested on suspicion of assault following a fight at a restaurant in Los Angeles.

Manning, a 25-year-old restricted free agent, signed a five-year, $21 million offer sheet with the Bears last Friday after three seasons with Carolina. A Panthers spokesman said the decision not to match it was unrelated to the arrest.

Manning was arrested early Sunday after he allegedly hit a man in the face along with four or five companions at a Denny's restaurant in the Westwood section of Los Angeles near UCLA, said officer Mike Lopez, a spokesman for the Los Angeles Police Department.

Tennis

• Jamea Jackson helped the United States overcome the absence of its stars -- and gave the team a place in the Fed Cup semifinals.

Jackson improved to 2-0 in her Fed Cup debut when she beat Martina Mueller of Germany 7-6 (2), 6-2 to clinch the decisive singles that secured the Americans' victory in the best-of-five series Sunday.

The U.S. team, a record 17-time champion, will meet Belgium in the semifinals after beating the Germans 3-2.

-- The Associated Press