Robert Rothbart, a 7-foot-1 senior center from
Natomas High in Sacramento, has decided to sign a letter of intent
to play at Indiana next season, ending speculation that he might
sign with UCLA. Rothbart said he called Indiana coach Mike
Davis Sunday to inform him he had chosen the Hoosiers over
the Bruins. “When I visited Indiana, I loved the people in
Bloomington, coach Davis and his staff, just the whole
thing,” Rothbart told the Associated Press. “I just
knew it was the right thing.”
FOOTBALL: NFL plans for former college
standouts Maurice Clarett of Ohio State and
Mike Williams of USC were put on hold by a federal
appeals court on Monday. NFL rules prohibit players from entering
the draft until three years after graduating from high school. A
lower court initially ruled that Clarett and Williams could enter
the draft, but the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals placed a stay
on that ruling. This leaves the players out of this weekend’s
draft, even though the court has yet to make a final ruling on
their eligibility. The court issued the stay because it needed more
time to consider the case before making a final ruling, which will
not be issued until after the draft. While waiting for the courts
to sort things out, Williams has already hired an agent. This may
prevent any possible return to USC.
MEN’S SOCCER: Former UCLA All-American
men’s soccer midfielder Adolfo Gregorio has
left the Colorado Rapids of Major League Soccer and will try to
play in England, according to the Rocky Mountain News. Gregorio was
the second round pick (15th selection) of the Rapids in the 2004
MLS SuperDraft and was the club’s first selection in the
draft.
GYMNASTICS: Fresh off of winning its fifth NCAA
championship, the UCLA gymnastics team added another solid gymnast
to the 2005 roster. Jordan Schwikert, who was on
the 2001 U.S. Junior National team, will join her sister, U.S.
Olympian Tasha Schwikert, on the team. Schwikert
joins Lindsey Vanden Eykel, who has already
committed to UCLA.
Compiled by Noah Grand and Robert Costa, Bruin sports
reporters, with reports by the Associated Press.