Smith says he'll return to Wolfpack

Tracy Smith, a second-team All-ACC player at N.C. State last season, announced that he has withdrawn his name from the NBA Draft list and will return to school for his senior season.

Smith didn't attend any NBA workouts because his academic schedule kept him in Raleigh.

The 6-8 Smith led the Wolfpack (20-15) in scoring (16.5) and rebounding (7.3) last season.

"I knew there was a pretty big chance I would not be able to attend any NBA workouts because of my classes, but if things were to have opened up I had to submit my name," said Smith. "Now I am absolutely focused on the coming season. With the talent we have returning, and the newcomers we have signed, we have a chance to have a special season."

Coach Sidney Lowe said he never doubted Smith would return to school.

"We were confident all the way back in February when Tracy said he would be returning for his senior season," said Lowe. "There was perhaps no better recruiter for our incoming class than Tracy, and you can see how hard he has been working since the season ended that he is looking forward to next year."

More basketball

● Kentucky freshmen Eric Bledsoe and Daniel Orton are choosing to remain in the NBA Draft.

Orton and Bledsoe announced yesterday that they will not return to school for their sophomore seasons. They'll join fellow underclassmen John Wall, DeMarcus Cousins and Patrick Patterson in the draft.

Bledsoe averaged 11.9 points in the backcourt alongside Wall, the Southeastern Conference Player of the Year.

Orton spent most of the season as a reserve center behind Cousins. He averaged 3.4 points and 3.3 rebounds and was second on the team with 53 blocks.

They are projected to go in the mid-to-late first round. All NCAA underclassmen had until yesterday to return to school.

They helped Kentucky go 35-3 and win the SEC regular season and conference tournament titles.

● Purdue's E'Twaun Moore and JaJuan Johnson have withdrawn from the NBA Draft and will return for their senior seasons.

The school announced their decision yesterday.

Moore, a 6-4 guard, was a first-team All-Big Ten pick this past season. He led the team with 16.4 points per game as the Boilermakers went 29-6 and shared the Big Ten regular-season title.

Johnson, a 6-10 center, averaged 15.5 points and a team-high 7.1 rebounds. Johnson, Purdue's career leader in blocked shots, has been on the Big Ten All-Defensive Team the past two seasons.

Moore and Johnson led the Boilermakers to the round of 16 in the NCAA Tournament after Robbie Hummel tore his right ACL late in the regular season.

● Florida coach Billy Donovan will have his NCAA Tournament starters back next season.

Forward Alex Tyus announced yesterday that he has removed his name from the NBA Draft and will return for his senior season. His decision means the Gators will return all five starters for the first time in four years. The last time it happened, Florida won the second of back-to-back national championships.

Tyus, a junior from St. Louis, filed early-entry paperwork last month but did not hire an agent. He said in a statement yesterday that he went through the process to see what he needs to work on to compete at the next level.

He moved from center to power forward last season and averaged 11.8 points and 6.9 rebounds.

● Bob Knight, a former Indiana coach, told Trine University graduates the key to success is being prepared for life's challenges.

Knight said yesterday during his 35-minute commencement address at the small private university in northeast Indiana that the will to prepare to win is more important than the will to win because people who prepare win more often than those who don't.

It was a rare public appearance in Indiana for Knight, who was fired as coach of the Hoosiers in 2000 after a freshman accused him of grabbing him.

Knight also told the graduates they'll likely have some bosses who will be as difficult to work for as he was to play for. He says he never intended to be an easy coach but wanted to see his players prepared to succeed in life.

Miscellaneous

● Salem College yesterday announced the signing of soccer player Mackenzie Schmidt.

Schmidt played for Olentangy Orange High School in Lewis Center, Ohio and for the Blast Football Club, based in Columbus, Ohio.

Schmidt tri-captained her high school team for the 2009 season. She was a first team Ohio Capital Conference team member in 2008, and also a second team All-District member. She was selected as a 2009 Central Ohio Soccer Coaches Association All-Star last fall.

● British cyclist Bradley Wiggins won the Giro d'Italia's opening leg yesterday in Amsterdam, edging world champion Cadel Evans and American Brent Bookwalter by two seconds.

Wiggins finished the 5.2-mile individual time trial in 10 minutes, 20 seconds in wet and windy weather.

Evans, an Australian, is riding the Giro for the first time in eight years.

Astana's Alexandre Vinokourov was five seconds back, tied with Greg Henderson of New Zealand.

Defending champion Denis Menchov skipped the race to focus on Tour de France preparations, as are defending Tour champion Alberto Contador and seven-time winner Lance Armstrong. Armstrong will ride in the Tour of California beginning May 16.

● South Africa President Jacob Zuma opened Durban's new international airport yesterday, the final part of the country's major World Cup infrastructure.

Zuma said King Shaka International Airport, which has been operational since May 1, will help growth and development in South Africa, which has spent more than $2 billion on airport upgrades ahead of the World Cup.

Officials say King Shaka can accommodate 7.5 million passengers a year. It took nearly three years to build.

Durban will host seven World Cup games, including the second semifinal and the high-interest group game between Brazil and Portugal, at the new $334 million Moses Mabhida Stadium.

● China's Li Shixin won the men's three-meter springboard final with 527.80 points and teamed with Yu Longhi to take the synchronized men's three-meter springboard title yesterday in the USA Diving Grand Prix at Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

American Troy Dumais was second at 506.65 in the men's three-meter springboard final, and won the synchronized men's three-meter springboard with partner Kristian Ipsen.

China's Ma Sinuo won the women's 10-meter platform final at 380.25, and compatriots Wu Shengping and Zhu Jiaming topped the synchronized 10-meter platform field, edging Americans Haley Ishimatsu and Mary-Beth Dunnichay.