Jones, Christoffersen,

Gooden sign agents
There’s no turning back from the NBA draft for Kansas basketball star Drew Gooden.
Gooden has hired an agent — Calvin Andrews, his former Amateur Athletic Union coach and longtime mentor. Under NCAA rules, he can’t return to Kansas for his senior season.
Andrews is a first-year agent, working for BDA Sports Management, Bill Duffy’s high-powered company based in Walnut Creek, Calif. Former Oregon stars Freddie Jones and Chris Christoffersen also recently signed with BDA.
“I’ve been a mentor to (Gooden) since he was a freshman in high school (in El Cerrito Calif.),” said Andrews, an El Sobrante resident. “I really helped him with the basketball, but also just being there as a mentor, showing him how to deal with things in life.”
Now Andrews will help Gooden deal with the pressure of being a likely top-five NBA draft pick.
Gooden will work out Wednesday for the Warriors, who own the third overall pick. He has workouts scheduled later this week with Houston, which owns the top choice, and Chicago, which drafts second. New York (seventh), Memphis (fourth) and Denver (fifth) also are on the schedule.
“Our strategy is to say, ‘If you want Drew Gooden, you better have one of the first three picks,’” Andrews said. “We’re going to Houston guns blazing, to woo and wow them.”
Last month, BDA signed Duke guard Jay Williams, a potential top pick. This week, Duffy’s company also signed Kentucky’s Tayshaun Prince, Missouri’s Kareem Rush and Clarence Gilbert.

— Eric Gilmore

Knight Ridder Newspapers