Sean Higgins

Sean Higgins, averaging 13.8 points a game for the University of Michigan, was suspended for 3 games because he broke training rules, Wolverine Coach Bill Frieder said Thursday. A university spokesman said he did not know the nature of Higgins' violation. The suspension will keep Higgins, a former standout at Los Angeles Fairfax High School, out of action for Michigan's appearance in the Utah tournament Dec. 28-29 at Salt Lake City and the Wolverines' Big Ten opener against Northwestern Jan. 7.

Every new recruiting year, fans look forward to seeing what innovative ideas teenagers can come up with to announce their college choices. Lately, most have been stuck on the cap routine, in which an athlete reveals the winning school by lifting one of three baseball caps on a desk while trying to keep the TV audience in suspense. Or they try to emulate LeBron James with "I will be taking my talents to.... " With signing day on Wednesday for high school football players, get ready for 72 hours of recruiting mania on TV and the Internet.

Fairfax High is not only one of the strongest basketball teams in Los Angeles, the Colonials are also a national powerhouse. Street & Smith's magazine has Harvey Kitani's club at No. 19 in its pre-season poll. Fairfax, which has won a league championship five years in a row, has a good chance of making it six. Although the Valley 4-A League is one of the toughest in the City, Fairfax has the horses to hurdle over Taft, Cleveland and Kennedy.

The Golden State Warriors signed Sean Higgins to a 10-day contract.

The Golden State Warriors signed Sean Higgins to a 10-day contract.

Splendid, the news that prep star Sean Higgins will attend UCLA next year on a basketball scholarship. Yet, for the life of me I can't fathom why: (1) Warren Steinberg, principal of Fairfax High School, consented to address a press conference on Sean's behalf, or (2) Walt Hazzard, UCLA's basketball coach, jumped out of bed early Tuesday morning to be sure Sean's mother didn't get lost delivering her son's signed letter of intent to the university's athletic office. Steinberg should have remained in his office, Hazzard should have stayed in bed, and Higgins should have taken care of his business, quietly.

Sean Higgins, who started every game for No. 4 Michigan this season, will be out three to four weeks with a stress fracture in his left foot. The 6-foot-9 guard-forward, who played at Fairfax High, suffered the injury in Wednesday's 91-73 loss to Big-Ten leader Purdue, spokesman Bruce Madej said Thursday. Higgins was averaging 16 points per game for the defending NCAA champions. Coach Steve Fisher said he expected Demetrius Calip, a 6-1 junior, to take Higgins's spot in the starting lineup.

UCLA's refusal to let Sean Higgins out of his letter of intent indicates Pete Dalis and Walt Hazzard are more interested in the success of their basketball program than in the welfare of the young man. Higgins wants to play at the University of Michigan so he can live near his father, but Dalis and Hazzard are suddenly interested in the letter of the law. I wonder what would happen if either of these guys were offered a lucrative contract elsewhere?...

Mystery shrouds the digs of UCLA superstar Reggie Miller. Perched above the garage of a mansion built in 1927, the year Babe Ruth hit 60 home runs, Reggie's apartment was once the quarters of the estate chauffeur. Nobody seems to know what happened to the original occupant, although some say that on dark and stormy nights in Holmby Hills he can be heard jingling the Rolls-Royce keys and moaning about working weekends. The apartment has become an exhibit in the National Collegiate Athletic Assn.

He's 6 feet 8, 23 years old with Reggie Miller range, so what's missing? Try a guaranteed contract. A lot happened to Sean Higgins between Fairfax High and the Lakers' training camp, some of it good. He was part of a ballyhooed freshman class at Michigan. He played on an NCAA champion as a sophomore, winning the semifinal game against Illinois with a rebound basket at the buzzer. He declared for the draft after his junior year. That was the problem. Talk about your stay in school ads.

Putting teeth into the cross-town rivalry, the Lakers relieved the Clippers of their last holdover center, signing James Edwards. The Lakers also signed former Fairfax High star Sean Higgins, a free agent who looked good on their summer league team. The twin signings required finesse, since the Lakers are $3 million over the salary cap. Edwards, 36, is thought to have gotten a two-year contract. The Lakers squeezed him into the $1.

When Sean Higgins was beginning his senior year at Fairfax in 1986, he was the West Coast's most sought-after high school basketball player. Today, he is trying to earn a job with arguably the NBA's worst team, the Orlando Magic, who signed him Friday to a 10-day contract. But Higgins doesn't feel that his tale is one of woe, just an example of someone who "got caught in the numbers game" with the San Antonio Spurs and is in a position "a lot of guys would love to be in."

First Michigan lost its bid for another championship, then it lost junior Sean Higgins, who announced he will declare himself eligible for the NBA draft in June. Higgins, who attended Fairfax High, told teammates of his decision Sunday after the Wolverines lost, 149-115, to Loyola Marymount in the second round of the tournament. He was not with the team when the Wolverines boarded a plane to leave Los Angeles.

Michigan junior Sean Higgins of Los Angeles said he will declare himself eligible for the NBA draft in June. Higgins told teammates of his decision Sunday after the defending champion Wolverines lost 149-115 to Loyola Marymount in the second round of the NCAA tournament. He was not with the team when the Wolverines boarded a plane to return to campus Sunday evening. Higgins, who fouled out of the game after scoring 15 points, said he was going to his mother's house in Los Angeles.

Dwane Casey, the embattled Kentucky basketball assistant, is mentioned in seven National Collegiate Athletic Assn. charges against the school--including one dealing with Sean Higgins, a former L.A. Fairfax High School star--according to a text of 13 allegations released Monday.

Bo Schembechler, Michigan athletic director and football coach, was giving a pep talk to the Wolverine basketball team when he zeroed in on forward Sean Higgins. An enigmatic underachiever, the 6-foot-9 sophomore sank into his chair as Schembechler blasted him. Once you've felt the wrath of Bo, you don't easily forget.

Sean Higgins, who started every game for No. 4 Michigan this season, will be out three to four weeks with a stress fracture in his left foot. The 6-foot-9 guard-forward, who played at Fairfax High, suffered the injury in Wednesday's 91-73 loss to Big-Ten leader Purdue, spokesman Bruce Madej said Thursday. Higgins was averaging 16 points per game for the defending NCAA champions. Coach Steve Fisher said he expected Demetrius Calip, a 6-1 junior, to take Higgins's spot in the starting lineup.

Illinois Coach Lou Henson has been criticized for his mediocre record in the National Collegiate Athletic Assn. tournament, but at least one of his players think it is unjust. At Friday's practice, Nick Anderson wore a T-shirt inscribed "Lou Can Do!" in support of Henson. "People have been down on him for so long, but Lou can do it," Anderson said. "I think he's a good coach. I don't care what anybody else says."