BRIEFLY : WILKENS MAKES WAY INTO THE HALL AGAIN.

Byline: Daily News Wire Services

When Lenny Wilkens was one of the top players in the NBA, he never thought much about coaching. He had to be talked into taking his first job.

It wasn't until his second season as player-coach of the Seattle SuperSonics that Wilkens gained insight into the power of coaching.

Seattle trailed the Cincinnati Royals by four points with just a few seconds remaining when he set up a play that resulted in a dunk. Then, he ordered his players into an immediate press since the Royals didn't have any timeouts remaining. The Sonics stole the inbounds pass, scored again to tie the game and won in overtime.

``I was like, `Wow!' '' Wilkens recalled Tuesday. ``I had just done something as a coach that helped us win, not as a player.''

More than 1,100 victories later and now coaching the Atlanta Hawks, Wilkens joined John Wooden as the only people elected twice to the Basketball Hall of Fame - first as a player, then as a coach.

NHL: Even though Mario Lemieux has been retired for a year, the Pittsburgh Penguins aren't taking any chances when it comes to Friday's expansion draft.

Though it's unlikely that the Nashville Predators would select the Hall of Famer, the Penguins were forced to protect Lemieux because he has not yet formally filed his retirement papers with the NHL.

The Penguins and the other 25 NHL teams each will lose a player to Nashville at the draft in Buffalo, N.Y.

After an agonizing, two-month review of his performance by management, Toronto Maple Leafs coach Mike Murphy, a former Kings player, was finally fired after two losing seasons.

Pat Quinn was seen as a top replacement candidate after meeting with general manager Ken Dryden over the weekend, but was noncommittal when reached at his home in Vancouver on Tuesday.

Don Waddell, assistant general manager of the Stanley Cup-champion Detroit Red Wings this season, was named general manager of the expansion Atlanta Thrashers.

FOOTBALL: The NFL is negotiating to buy a stake in the Arena Football League, a move that would give it a year-round product and a chance to develop more fans.

The arena league's fast-paced game and intimate setting has helped it survive 12 years, in spite of what its commissioner said was a lack of money and skilled management.

TENNIS: Cecil Mammit of Eagle Rock, ex-NCAA champion for USC, won his second straight USTA Futures tournament by beating Nicolas Massu 0-6, 6-3, 6-0 in White Plains, N.Y.