The Preps : Boys’ Athlete of the Week : After Signing Early, He Can Concentrate on Basketball

Scott Campbell is having a peaceful senior season with the La Quinta High School basketball team. There’s no pressure, no stress and, above all, no college recruiters.

It’s not that Campbell isn’t wanted by college coaches. After all, he’s averaging 32.4 points per game this season.

But Campbell is just unavailable, having signed a letter of intent with Cal State Fullerton during the early signing period in November.

“I wanted to enjoy my senior season,” said Campbell, The Times’ athlete of the week.

“Last year, Kenny Bennett (former La Quinta star now at Cal Poly Pomona) had to go through the whole recruiting process during the season. Through the whole season, he seemed like he was under a lot of pressure. Every time he threw a bad pass, he worried. He told me that if I could make the decision early, it would be a lot easier.”

La Quinta’s opponents probably wish Campbell had a few things to worry about other than shooting a basketball.

He has scored 30 or more points in 6 consecutive games. Last week, Campbell scored 42 in an 84-74 victory over Rancho Alamitos and 36 points in a 75-72 victory over Kennedy.

“The Kennedy game was a personal matter for me,” said Campbell, a 6-foot 5-inch forward. “They tore us up twice last season. They won the league, they won the CIF (Southern Section 3-A) championship. It was real important to all of us that we beat them.”

In late October, Campbell was besieged by college coaches from USC, UCLA, the University of Hawaii, Cal State Long Beach and Fullerton.

Not a day went by that a coach didn’t call to set up an appointment.

“There were times when I went down to the Edison Recreation Center to dodge the calls,” Campbell said. “The whole week was hectic. I was getting at least one call a night, all of them about playing basketball.”

Campbell sought advice from La Quinta Coach Jim Perry.

“Scott came to me and said he wanted to take the pressure off and asked about signing early,” Perry said. “I told him if he felt comfortable with a school, academically and basketball-wise, then he should sign.”

At the end of October, Campbell sat down and wrote out a list of pros and cons of each of the interested schools. Fullerton won.

“I liked the education department and the basketball program,” he said. “I also wanted to stay close to home.”

But when Titan Coach George McQuarn resigned and was replaced by assistant John Sneed on Nov. 3, Campbell was not sure Fullerton was still the right choice.

“I had to think about it all over again,” Campbell said. “I talked with Coach Sneed, and it seemed like he was doing a pretty good job. . . . And he was the one who recruited me in October.”

TOP PERFORMERS

Dustin Bonham of Pacifica scored 47 points as the Mariners opened Garden Grove League play with 2 victories.

Steve Marusich of Servite scored 39 points in 2 games, including 21 in a 42-41 victory over Bishop Montgomery in the Friars’ Angelus League opener Friday.

Robbie Pietsch of El Modena scored 41 points in 2 victories for the Vanguards last week.

Jason Rodarmel of Capistrano Valley Christian scored 55 points in 2 games, including 41 against Whitney Tuesday. Capistrano Valley Christian split its 2 Olympic League games.

Scott Campbell

La Quinta High School

Position: Forward

Height, Weight, Class: 6-5, 190, Senior

Last Week: Campbell scored 42 points in an 84-74 victory over Rancho Alamitos and 36 points in a 75-72 victory over Kennedy.

Season: Campbell is averaging 32.4 points per game and has scored 30 or more in each of his last 6 games. He is also averaging 8.9 rebounds.