Basketball Players

Chapman College announced Friday that basketball Coach Bob Boyd has signed three players, bringing the number of recruits to five. The latest to sign are Richie Bethune, a 6-foot-7 forward from Southwestern Community College in Chula Vista; Jeff Gardner, a 6-3 forward from Lee Community College in Baytown, Tex., and Mike Vaughn, a 6-1 guard from Central Arizona Community College in Coolidge. Bethune averaged 16 points and 11 rebounds last season.

Misdemeanor charges have been filed by the Orange County district attorney's office against two Cal State Fullerton basketball players who were arrested two weeks ago. After an investigation by campus police, freshman guard Greg Vernon was charged with auto theft and freshman forward Michael Bloodworth was charged with auto theft and possession of stolen property.

Five Duquesne basketball players were shot on campus early Sunday, leaving at least one critically injured, after some of them tried to calm a man who apparently had been disruptive at a dance, officials said. Police searched for the gunman, and the downtown school stepped up its round-the-clock police protection with armed university police officers guarding dormitories and other buildings.

Cal State Fullerton men's basketball Coach Bob Hawking said Thursday he had received signed letters of intent from two more players. Hawking said he expects Kenroy Jarrett, a 5-foot-11 point guard from Twentynine Palms High, and John Williams, a 6-5 forward from Mt. San Jacinto College in San Jacinto, to be able to help the program immediately. Hawking said Jarrett averaged about 21 points and Williams about 17 last season. "We're very excited about signing both these players," Hawking said.

Wisconsin suspended men's basketball players Maurice Linton and Travon Davis and women's player Krita Bird for eight games for receiving unadvertised discounts at the Shoe Box in Madison, Wis. In all, 121 athletes have been disciplined for receiving substantial discounts at the store. The three players suspended Wednesday must also close their accounts at the store and repay more than $500 in benefits in order to restore their eligibility.

What would the originators of the Olympic ideal think of all this Dream Team stuff? Anybody who still clings to the Olympic concept as that of a gathering of athletes attempting to excel purely for the glory of the attempt need only look to the daily doings of the U.S. Olympic basketball team. Among Wednesday's news was a nugget informing that the team would, at some point, actually go to the athletes' village and spend a few hours visiting with the other competitors.

High school all-star basketball games typically provide little more than a few dunks, no-look passes, a last hurrah for hometown seniors and perhaps a scholarship opportunity for a guard otherwise overlooked. But the one this Friday night at the San Diego Sports Arena hardly is typical. One glance at the rosters indicates that. At 7 p.m.

The condition of Cal State Fullerton guard Rodney Anderson was unchanged Saturday, Coach Bob Hawking said. Anderson was critically wounded by gunshots fired by an unknown assailant Thursday evening in his family's neighborhood in south Los Angeles. His condition was described as critical but stable by a hospital spokesman on Friday. Hawking, his assistants and Titan players visited Anderson at the Martin Luther King Jr.-Drew Medical Center Friday, and plan to do so again this morning.

Biola basketball player Christyan Rios died from a fall while hiking with his family near his home in Chihuahua, Mexico, over the weekend. After running ahead on a hill, Rios, 23, was found by family members after he had fallen many feet, according to Ken Carlson, Biola sports information director, who was informed of the death Monday. Rios, a 6-foot-5 junior transfer, averaged 4.1 points and 3.3 rebounds in his only season for Biola.

Armando Becker, a Venezuelan basketball player, tested positive for cocaine at the Pan American Games, a member of the technical basketball commission said Friday. Eduardo Davagnino of Peru said a coach for Venezuela confirmed that Becker had tested positive for cocaine. Orlando Mosquera, the coach, said that the Venezuelan delegation was notified by doctors from the Pan American Sports Organization about the positive test.