Former UA guard Jawann McClellan has agreed to a one-year deal to play for Leuven, a first-division professional basketball team in Belgium.
McClellan's pro prospects appeared difficult this summer after he was not picked in the June NBA draft and was cut by the Philadelphia 76ers before Las Vegas summer league play began.
"I was thrilled," McClellan said Tuesday. "I didn't know if there would be anything there."
McClellan said the deal was for an unspecified six-figure amount. His agent, Steve Pina, said McClellan should be an offensive focal point.
"People are going to see he's still the great offensive talent he has been," Pina said. "It's a great opportunity. The Jawann McClellan who was a McDonald's All-American is what you will see now."
People are also reading…
— Bruce Pascoe
YOUTH BASKETBALL
Tucson team wins national title
The Tucson Rattlers won the AAU West Coast National Championships girls basketball tournament in Las Vegas over the weekend.
The Rattlers went 5-0 and beat the Arizona Venom 60-59 in the championship game. Darian Saunders, who is an incoming freshman at Palo Verde High School, scored 18 points in the title game and had 10 rebounds and six blocks. She averaged 10.8 points, 10 rebounds and four blocks per game. Alyssa Deal, a Cienega sophomore, added 10 points in the title game.
JUNIOR GOLF
Two Tucsonans win state event
Tucson junior golfers Derek Laporte and Erin McClure won the summer state championships Tuesday at Arizona State's Karsten Course in Tempe.
Laporte, a junior at Tucson High School, won the overall boys title by shooting 75-70 in the two-day event of the Junior Golf Association of Arizona 2008 championships. Catalina Foothills junior Billy Flower was fifth overall with rounds of 77-73.
McClure, a Foothills sophomore, won the girls 15-18 title with scores of 82-79. High school teammate Brittany McKee, a sophomore, was second overall at 83-77.
NBA
Ex-ref sentenced to 15 months
NEW YORK — Former NBA official Tim Donaghy was sentenced Tuesday to 15 months behind bars for a gambling scandal that still has the league on the defensive.
U.S. District judge Carol Amon said Donaghy had let the sport down by taking money from a gambler in exchange for game tips — including ones he refereed.
Tucson golf pro makes it to the U.S. Senior Open | Greg Hansen
