percy romeo miller

Kevin Love scored 18 points and grabbed 16 rebounds, helping second-ranked UCLA overcome a sloppy first half in a 71-59 victory over Maryland Monday night in the semifinals of the CBE Classic in Kansas City, Mo.

UCLA (4-0) had just eight scholarship players in uniform because of injuries to several key players, and it showed early with numerous turnovers and bad shots. But the Bruins, led by Love's crisp passing against Maryland's press, settled down.

UCLA will play Michigan State in the championship game tonight. Greivis Vasquez had 18 points for Maryland (3-1).




No. 10 Michigan State 86, Missouri 83: Drew Neitzel made a late three-pointer and hit two free throws with 2.4 seconds left as Michigan State (3-0) held off Missouri (3-1).

No. 13 Duke 83, Princeton 61: Freshman forward Kyle Singler had 21 points and 12 rebounds for Duke (3-0) in the opening round of the EA Sports Maui Invitational in Lahaina, Hawaii. Duke will play Illinois, which beat Arizona State 77-54, in the semifinals today.





Big East
No. 11 Marquette 74, Chaminade 63: Jerel McNeal scored eight of his 22 points in a late 11-2 run and Marquette held off Chaminade in the opening round of the EA Sports Maui Invitational in Lahaina, Hawaii.

The Golden Eagles (3-0) will face Oklahoma State in the semifinals today.

Georgia Tech 70, Notre Dame 69: Matt Causey scored 11 points, including a three-pointer with two seconds remaining, and Georgia Tech (3-2) beat Notre Dame (2-2) in Charlotte Amalie, U.S. Virgin Islands.

Padgett fractures knee cap: Louisville center David Padgett has a fractured right kneecap that will cause him to miss at least 10 weeks and possibly the rest of the season.

Lil' Romeo signs with USC: Lil' Romeo, the teenage hip-hop performer, signed a national letter of intent to attend Southern Cal.

Lil' Romeo, whose full name is Percy Romeo Miller, is a senior at Beverly Hills High. He averaged 13.9 points and 5.6 assists last season. His father, hip-hop mogul Master P, had tryouts with two NBA teams in the 1990s. One recruiting service ranks the 6-foot Miller among the top 15 prep point guards in the country. ... The body of former Washington State player Tony Harris was found in a dense thicket in central Brazil, police said, two weeks after he was reported missing.



BOULDER ― Finally able to speak about his five-player recruiting class, Colorado men's basketball coach Jeff Bzdelik predicted that each will have "a major impact" on the program's future.

CU officially announced the signings of two guards and three inside players Monday. Four of the five signees are high school seniors.

Joining the backcourt next fall will be 6-foot Javonte Clanton of Blinn Community College in Texas and 6-2 Nate Tomlinson, an Australian playing at Lee (Maine) Academy. Filling a size void on the Buffs' roster will be 6-8 Adam Dufault of Killdeer, N.D.; 6-9 Trey Eckloff of Cherry Creek and 6-7 Toby Veal of Johnson High School in Savannah, Ga.

Veal is the most highly rated of the

CU Basketball
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class, ranking No. 148 on Rival.com's national top 150 list. He averaged about 20 points and a dozen rebounds as a junior.
"An explosive, athletic rebounder and finisher around the rim," Bzdelik said of Veal. "Toby has the potential to be one of the premier rebounders and defenders in the Big 12."

Tom Kensler, The Denver Post

Louisville's Padgett likely out for season. Louisville center David Padgett has a fractured right kneecap that will cause him to miss at least 10 weeks - possibly the rest of the season.

"David Padgett's (college) career is probably coming to an end," coach Rick Pitino said. "We're all devastated for David and for the team."

The fifth-year senior banged the knee in practice last week, Pitino said, and hit it again as he tried to draw a charging foul during No. 6 Louisville's 84-53 win over Jackson State on Sunday.

Lil' Romeo signs with USC. Lil' Romeo, a teenage hip-hop performer, signed a national letter of intent to attend USC.

Lil' Romeo, an actor and rapper whose full name is Percy Romeo Miller, is a senior guard at Beverly Hills (Calif.) High School. He averaged 13.9 points and 5.6 assists last season. His father, hip-hop mogul Master P, had tryouts with two NBA teams in the 1990s.

"This is the most important thing I've had to do and hopefully it sends a message to kids across the country that education is more important than money," Miller said. "Getting a college scholarship is more important than winning an American Music Award, and I plan to be the best student-athlete I can be at USC."

One recruiting service ranks Miller, a 6-0, 170-pounder, among the top 15 prep point guards in the country.

Body of U.S. player found SAO PAULO, BRAZIL ― The body of former Washington State basketball player Tony Harris was found in a dense thicket in central Brazil, two weeks after he was reported missing.

The body of Harris was slumped against a tree in an Army training ground with the shoelace from one of his sneakers wrapped around his neck, said police spokesman Norton Luiz. The body was found Sunday after police received an anonymous tip.

"We believe he may have committed suicide because it appears the body fell from one of the tree's branches, although we are not ruling out homicide," Luiz said.

Harris, who would have turned 37 on Sunday, played on the Washington State team that reached the 1994 East Regional of the NCAA Tournament. Harris averaged 12.4 points and 4.3 rebounds in two seasons with the Cougars.

Louisville center David Padgett has a fractured right knee cap that will cause him to miss at least 10 weeks - possibly the rest of the season.

"David Padgett's (college) career is probably coming to an end," coach Rick Pitino said during a news conference Monday. "We're all devastated for David and for the team."

The fifth-year senior banged the knee in practice last week, Pitino said, and hit it again as he tried to draw a charging foul during No. 6 Louisville's 84-53 win over Jackson State on Sunday. Pitino initially said the injury appeared to be a bruise.

Padgett averaged 9.5 points and 5.6 rebounds last season.

LOS ANGELES

Rapper Lil' Romeo to play at USC

Lil' Romeo is headed to Southern California to play basketball.

The teenage hip-hop performer signed a national letter of intent to attend USC on Monday at a news conference held at a posh hotel near Beverly Hills.

Lil' Romeo, an actor and rapper whose full name is Percy Romeo Miller, is currently a senior guard at Beverly Hills High. He averaged 13.9 points and 5.6 assists last season. His father, hip-hop mogul Master P, had tryouts with two NBA teams in the 1990s.

LOS ANGELES

Lakers' Brown out indefinitely

Los Angeles Lakers center Kwame Brown will be sidelined indefinitely with a sprained medial collateral ligament in his left knee.

Lakers spokesman John Black said an MRI on Monday revealed the extent of the injury.

Brown was hurt early in the Lakers' win over Chicago on Sunday. He was averaging 4.7 points and 5.5 rebounds in his first six games this season.

NEW ORLEANS

Hornets' Paul misses 2nd game

Chris Paul missed his second straight game with a sprained right ankle when the New Orleans Hornets hosted the Orlando Magic on Monday night.

Jannero Pargo started in Paul's place, and veteran Bobby Jackson remained in his role as the Hornets' first man off the bench.

Paul averaged 19.5 points and 10.8 assists through the Hornets' first 10 games, during which New Orleans was 8-2.

GREEN BAY, WIS.

NFL Hall-of-Famer Ringo dies

Jim Ringo, a Hall of Fame center who played 15 seasons for the Green Bay Packers and Philadelphia Eagles, died Monday morning after a short illness.

Ringo became one of the league's best centers despite being undersized at just over 200 pounds.

Ringo, 75, played for the Eagles from 1964-67. He was voted to 10 Pro Bowls and was chosen for the NFL's All-Decade Team of the 1960s. He started in a then-record 182 consecutive games from 1954-67.

Ringo coached the Buffalo Bills for two seasons.

TAMPA, FLA.

Bucs' June arrested for DUI

Tampa Bay Buccaneers linebacker Cato June was arrested early Monday and charged with driving under the influence several hours after the team returned from a win in Atlanta.

June, 28, was stopped by police shortly before 3 a.m. because they said he was driving above the speed limit. He refused to take a breath test and was booked into the Hillsborough County Jail, where he remained for more than seven hours before being released on $500 bond.

The fifth-year pro spent the first four seasons of his career with the Indianapolis Colts.

NEW YORK

Maxwell Award finalists named

Oregon senior quarterback Dennis Dixon, Arkansas junior running back Darren McFadden and Florida sophomore quarterback Tim Tebow are finalists for the Maxwell Award for the nation's best all-around player.

The Maxwell and eight other honors will be presented Dec. 6 at an awards ceremony televised by ESPN.

Cincinnati's Kevin Huber is one of the finalists for the Ray Guy Award for best punter.

INDIANAPOLIS

Gay, Felix winners of Owens Award

Sprinters Tyson Gay and Allyson Felix were named the winners of the Jesse Owens Award as the outstanding U.S. track and field athletes of 2007.

It is the first time Gay has been given the honor and the second time for Felix.

Gay won the 100 and 200 meters at the world championships in Osaka, Japan, and was part of the victorious 400-meter relay team there.

Felix became the second woman in world championships history to win three golds.

MESA, ARIZ.

Tyson gets one day in jail

Mike Tyson could have received more than four years in prison. He left the courtroom having to serve all of one day in an open-air jail.

The former heavyweight champion was sentenced Monday for cocaine possession and driving under the influence.

Tyson, 41, will serve his day in jail today for DUI. He received three years of probation for the cocaine charge and also will have to pay a fine, submit to drug testing and serve 360 hours of community service.

LEXINGTON, KY.

Numbers up at Keeneland sale

Sales improved 8.6 percent at this year's Keeneland November Breeding Stock Sale over 2006 figures, officials said after the last session on Monday.

Last year's total of $313,843,800 was for 14 days, though, while this year the sale lasted 15 days and produced $340,877,200 in sales.

The average price of $100,821 was also up,
BEVERLY HILLS - Just head past actor Jack Black's news conference for "Margot at the Wedding" and turn right.

And there you were, at what may have been the first high school basketball signing scheduled for a Four Seasons Hotel -- or in Beverly Hills.

Percy Romeo Miller, aka Lil' Romeo, and Demar DeRozan were about to sign USC basketball letters of intent Monday, although the billing probably should have had 6-foot-6 DeRozan, out of Compton High and considered the nation's top prep shooting guard, on top.

"The next LeBron James, the next Kobe Bryant, the next Michael Jordan," Miller's father, hip-hop impresario Master P (aka Percy Miller), said of DeRozan, who scored 22.3 points a game as a junior at Compton.

The two have been best friends the last five years since playing on the same summer basketball traveling teams, Romeo Miller said.

DeRozan said it made sense for him, after including North Carolina, Arizona, Florida State and Washington in his final choices, "Why not choose a program in your backyard?"

Echoing the rationale of this year's high-profile USC freshman, O. J. Mayo, DeRozan said it made sense to play for a coach such as Tim Floyd who had been in the NBA and could show him "how to be more of a defensive threat."

Miller, not quite 5-11 and a point guard who averaged 13.9 points a game, 5.6 assists and three steals as a junior, said USC was "a perfect fit." The honor student said he plans to enroll in USC's film school and wants to be a director like "George Lucas, Steven Spielberg and John Singleton." He'll continue acting but give up singing for now.

"I get the best of both worlds," Miller said -- basketball and film school.

As to any problems with NCAA limitations on outside income and other issues, Percy Miller said they had "checked with the NCAA lawyers" about any possible issues there and been told that there shouldn't be any problems since his son had established himself as an entertainer.

"We went through that whole process with them to make sure they understand my lifestyle," Lil' Romeo said.

With neither Scout.com nor Rivals.com ranking him among the nation's top 40 senior point guards, Miller said he knew there would be questions about his game.

"They doubted Jesus," Miller said, noting that in games when opposing fans got on him the most, "I shot the ball better."

USC's Floyd, unavailable for comment on an off-day for his team, released a prepared statement on DeRozan and Miller.

"Demar is one of the elite players in the country," Floyd said, calling him a "spectacular athlete" and "the best perimeter player in the country."

Floyd called Miller "a very unselfish point guard who plays exceptionally hard. You can't have enough guys on your team who you think are reliable and dependable."

USC also announced a third basketball signee, 5-11 point guard Donte Smith, of Mount San Antonio College. The former Diamond Bar High star averaged 21.7 points a game as a freshman last season and will sit out this year to have three seasons of eligibility at USC.

Reach Dan Weber at dweber@PE.com

Women
No. 14 Arizona State 84, Yale 38: Dymond Simon scored 17 points and sparked a 34-2 run in the first half as Arizona State (2-1) rolled past Yale in Tempe, Ariz. Jamie Van Horne led Yale (0-2) with nine points.

No. 5 North Carolina 99, Georgia State 64: Rashanda McCants scored 18 points to lead six players in double figures as North Carolina (6-0) defeated