Notebook : Sean Waters : Tarver to Pass on Choosing a College Early

Don’t expect Santa Clara High’s Shon Tarver to accept a college basketball scholarship during the early signing period in November.

Tarver, last season’s State Division IV Player of the Year, plans to wait until after his senior basketball season before making a decision, according to Santa Clara Coach Lou Cvijanovich.

“I’m trying to push him to sign early,” Cvijanovich said. “I think it takes the pressure off the kid and allows him a chance to be a human being during his senior year.

“But it’s not going to happen. He wants to take his time and explore his options.”

Cvijanovich experienced similar recruiting battles when his son Stacy Cvijanovich and Joe Wallace were seniors at Santa Clara. He said the whole process can be a major headache.

Tarver, who averaged 22.1 points as a junior, is currently being showcased at the Nike Camp in Princeton, N. J., where only the top players in the nation are invited.

Santa Clara, meanwhile, finished fourth in the Carson tournament and was eliminated in the consolation second round of the Fairfax tournament last weekend without Tarver in the lineup.

Add Tarver: Faced with a younger, smaller starting lineup, Cvijanovich is experimenting with the idea of moving the 6-5 Tarver from small forward to point or off guard. The move would give the Saints a more experienced ball-handler and, hopefully, create matchup problems for opposing defenses.

Second thoughts: Reg Welker decided a move from Hueneme High to the junior college level was not enough incentive to continue coaching baseball and he backed out of his decision to become the new coach at Oxnard College.

Welker informed Don Brockett, the Oxnard athletic director, of his decision Friday one week after accepting the new position. His selection was awaiting approval by the Ventura County Community College District, which was scheduled to make a decision Tuesday.

“I lost my enthusiasm and interest in coaching,” Welker said. “I thought a new job would help, but it didn’t. It had nothing to do with Oxnard or its administration. It was because of personal problems. I have been considering quitting coaching for the past two years.”

Welker said he will remain a teacher and the athletic director at Hueneme, but will not return as the school’s baseball coach.

Brockett said he was caught off guard by Welker’s decision, especially since most of the formalities had been worked out.

“Yes it caught me by surprise,” Brockett said. “We had worked out all the details with his school district and had a practice schedule.”

Young and promising: Moorpark High continues to corner the market on junior varsity coaches with potential to run a varsity program.

Dave Rhoades became the third hire in slightly more than a year without varsity coaching experience when he was selected as the new Moorpark baseball coach.

Rhoades, who has been the school’s junior varsity coach, succeeds Mario Porto, who resigned to become an assistant at Moorpark College. Rhoades had a three-year of 30-21 record, and led the Musketeers to the Tri-Valley League championship last season.

Last summer, Moorpark hired Rob Dearborn as football coach, and Tim Bednar was selected as boys’ basketball program last month. Neither had varsity experience.

Rhoades, 27, played baseball at Pepperdine where he received his degree in 1983. He also played minor league baseball in Walla Walla, Washington in the Class-A Northwest League and toured with Athletes in Action.

Hot stuff: The biggest problem facing Coach Rick Scott and the Buena High football team was finding a wide receiver for standout senior quarterback Jason Isaacs to throw to.

Last season, Isaacs teamed with receiver Jim Collins to form one of the most dangerous passing combinations in the Southern Section.

Scott, however, thinks he has found a receiver that’s not only as tall as Collins, but faster.

His name--James Craft.

“He’s lightning fast,” Scott said about Craft, a 5-9, 155-pound senior. “He’s just as tall as Jim but not quite as big.”

Bayou Bound: Shane Espitia, who pitched for Ventura College last season, will receive a half scholarship to continue his baseball career at Nicholls State University in Thibodaux, La.

“I felt they had a good program and I needed a chance to get away,” Espitia said.

Espitia had a 8-3 record and a 2.86 earned-run average for the Pirates last season.

Staying home--Adan Valencia, who was an All-Channel League selection at Buena high, will play basketball at Cal Lutheran. Valencia, a 6-6 forward, averaged 16 points and 11 rebounds a game as a senior.