OKLAHOMA CITY — Oklahoma City Thunder coach Scott Brooks was named the NBA's coach of the year Wedmesday after engineering the league's best turnaround.

The Thunder won 27 more games this season than they did a year ago, going 50-32 and earning the No. 8 seed in the Western Conference playoffs with the NBA's youngest roster.

The improvement came without a big free agent signing. Instead, the team is comprised of the same group as last season, plus rookies James Harden, Serge Ibaka and Eric Maynor.

Brooks and the Thunder now face another daunting turnaround: an 0-2 deficit in their best-of-seven series against the Los Angeles Lakers. Game 3 is tonight in Oklahoma City.

JACKSON TWP — Seneca Valley senior infielder Brad Johnson will play baseball at the University of Charleston (W.Va.) next season.Johnson hit .300 for the Raiders in 2009 and is their regular third baseman. Charleston is a Division II school and a member of the West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference.Johnson plays for the Sports Zone White Sox and works at Treesdale Golf and Country Club during the summer.