Prep Basketball Letters of Intent : Raveling Lands His First Big One for USC--6-9 Munk

Victory No. 1 for George Raveling as basketball coach at USC came Wednesday evening with the somewhat surprising announcement that Chris Munk of San Francisco Riordan, one of the top high school prospects in the state, said he will become a Trojan.

Raveling had been in San Francisco Tuesday night to meet with the 6-9 Munk and said he “came away feeling good about our talk.” But Raveling said Wednesday afternoon that he could not set any timetable for Munk’s decision.

“I got the impression from him that he could call today and say he has made a decision, or not call until next week and say he has made a decision,” Raveling said. “Essentially, he was looking to me for some answers to his questions. I thought it went real well.”

Apparently, so did Munk. Wednesday, in an interview with KRON-TV of San Francisco at Riordan, Munk said Raveling is one of the main reasons that he picked USC over Oklahoma and Villanova.

“He (Raveling) is a great guy,” Munk said in the television interview. “He is the kind of guy I would like to play for in my next four years of college.”

Munk’s verbal commitment took some of the spotlight away from Pepperdine, which signed four players to letters of intent on the first day of the April signing period.

The Waves, who landed guard Ed Allen of City College of San Francisco in November, increased their recruiting class to five with three California players and an All-State player from Nevada. In addition, Coach Jim Harrick said that efforts are continuing to sign one or two more local standouts in the next few days, but he would not be specific.

With guards Jon Korfas and Dwayne Polee and swingman Grant Gondrezick graduating, Harrick was especially pleased to fill potential holes in the backcourt by signing Lafayette Dorsey of Dorsey, Wally Carter of Las Vegas High and Donnie Moore of West Valley Community College in San Jose.

The 6-1 Carter averaged 25.6 points a game, earning All-Nevada honors, and Moore, although only 6 feet, is said to be an impressive leaper.

All-City forward Michael Courtney of Westchester was Pepperdine’s other addition.

The Waves had expected to also get 6-9 Marcellus Lee of Pomona, but Lee changed his mind at the last minute and chose Loyola Marymount.

UCLA reported no signings Wednesday, but Arizona did, and that was a loss for the Bruins. Forward Jud Buechler of Poway, the San Diego Section 3-A champion, signed with the Wildcats.

“It didn’t surprise me,” UCLA Coach Walt Hazzard said. “He’s a good kid and it was a tough decision. Along with his parents, he weighed all the factors and decided he was better off there.”

Now, UCLA is lining up additional players for visits before the signing period ends May 15. Oregon was the only other Pacific 10 school to add a player. The Ducks got forward Ed Briggs of Anchorage, Alaska, and of Chemeketa Community College in Salem, Ore.

UC Irvine announced the signings of guard Jason Turner of Encino Crespi and forward Frank Woods of Seward County Community College in Liberal, Kan. Cal State Long Beach got Lee Roy Brown, a 6-6 forward who averaged 16 points and 15 rebounds a game last season for Cohen High School in New Orleans.

The Nevada Las Vegas women’s team also had a big day in Southern California, getting Pauline and Geannine Jordan, the twins who led Pasadena Muir to the No. 1 spot in the nation for part of the season, and Linda Staley of Palmdale, perhaps the top player in the Southern Section 3-A Division.

The USC women’s golf team announced the signing of Tracy Nakamura of Alhambra High, one of the top junior players in the area. She won the Junior World Tournament in San Diego in 1980.