LSU to hire

Stanford coach

LSU intends to hire Stanford's Trent Johnson, who led the Cardinal to the round of 16 in this year's NCAA tournament, as its new coach.

Several people at LSU familiar with the selection process said a formal announcement was expected by today. The people asked to remain anonymous because the hiring was not yet official.

Stanford athletic director Bob Bowlsby said in an e-mail to The Associated Press on Wednesday afternoon that Johnson was given permission to talk to LSU but had not yet resigned.

Mayo leaves USC

O.J. Mayo is leaving Southern California after one season to enter the NBA draft.

Mayo plans to hire an agent, which would prevent him from returning to the Trojans.

A&M's Jordan

to enter draft

Texas A&M freshman DeAndre Jordan will enter the NBA draft without hiring an agent, giving him the option of returning to the Aggies.

The 7-foot center averaged 7.9 points and 6.0 rebounds per game for the Aggies, who finished 25-11 and lost to Final Four qualifier UCLA in the second round of the NCAA tournament.

Alexander

declares for draft

West Virginia forward Joe Alexander has declared himself eligible for the NBA draft.

Alexander will not sign with an agent, leaving the possibility that he would return for his senior season.

Calipari named

Naismith Coach

John Calipari was named Naismith National Coach of the Year by The Atlanta Tipoff Club.

The Memphis coach led the Tigers to the NCAA title game where they lost 75-68 in overtime to Kansas.

Love, Collison

undecided

UCLA All-American Kevin Love and teammate Darren Collison have not yet decided whether they will make themselves available for the NBA draft, coach Ben Howland.

He dismissed a report on the Los Angeles Times' Web site that said the players had decided to leave and were expected to hire agents, which would prevent them from returning to the Bruins next season.

OU's Griffin

to return

Oklahoma forward Blake Griffin will return for his sophomore season instead of making an early entry into the NBA draft.

Griffin led the Sooners by averaging 14.7 points and 9.1 rebounds last season.

Notable

Syracuse freshman forward Donte Greene has declared himself eligible for the NBA draft.

Television ratings for the women's NCAA championship game and the entire tournament were up 30 percent from last year. For the entire tournament, games on ESPN averaged a 1.4 rating, compared with 1.0 in 2007.

Ray Harper resigned as the coach at NAIA Division I champion Oklahoma City University to pursue job opportunities at a major-college basketball program.

Bill Bayno returned to college basketball after an eight-year absence, signing a five-year deal to coach Loyola Marymount.