San Diego Pipeline Fuels Arizona : Basketball: The flow of talent from here to there keeps Lute Olson piped into the market and frustrated local coaches tapped out.

SAN DIEGO--The San Diego-to-Tucson Pipeline.

At first, Jim Brandenburg and Hank Egan tried to ignore it, maybe hoping it would dry up or spring a leak, possibly in El Centro or Gila Bend.

But three years after its construction, it is still transporting San Diego’s top high school basketball players to Tucson, flowing better than ever.

The Pipeline opened in the spring of 1986 when Poway High’s section player of the year--Jud Buechler--announced his intentions to play in college in Tucson, for the University of Arizona.

Three years later, Torrey Pines forward Kevin Flanagan signed to play for Lute Olson and the Wildcats.

Then this fall, when Christian’s Tony Clark announced he would follow Flanagan, the Pipeline officially became a nuisance to Brandenburg and Egan, basketball coaches at San Diego State and the University of San Diego.

College coaches make their livings recruiting good players, and Brandenburg and Egan said losing Buechler, Flanagan and Clark has not been easy to accept.

“I wasn’t here when Buechler came out, but we recruited Kevin Flanagan and Tony Clark very hard,” Brandenburg said. “I think there’s obviously some disappointment.”

Egan said he dropped out of the Tony Clark sweepstakes early but admitted that losing Buechler and Flanagan was painful.

“It hurts a bunch losing a kid in your own back yard,” Egan said.

Oddly, Olson did not first see Buechler, Flanagan or Clark play in San Diego.

He saw Buechler as a sophomore in the Los Angeles Sports Arena during the state basketball tournament and later at the summer Slam & Jam tournament in Los Angeles. Flanagan came with Torrey Pines teammates to Olson’s camp in Tucson, and Olson first watched Clark at the Slam & Jam.

So what’s Olson’s secret?

“In part, it’s proximity,” he said by phone from Tucson. “We’re just not that far away.”

About six hours by car, an hour by airplane.

Olson said strong alumni ties in San Diego might be a contributing factor.

“The fact that there are a lot of San Diegans that have attended Arizona on football and basketball scholarships has helped,” Olson said. “And although alumni can no longer help recruit, there are job opportunities available to the kids once they’re done with school.”

Brandenburg, who did get Monte Vista’s Joe McNaull in the early signing period, said he believes there were other reasons why he lost Flanagan and Clark.

“The No. 1 factor in Kevin Flanagan’s case was that he wanted to go away to school,” Brandenburg said. “Tony Clark was just enamored with their program.”

To put it mildly.

“I couldn’t believe the atmosphere (in Tucson),” Clark said. “There was so much support for the program.”

Patty Clark, Clark’s mother, said she was also impressed with the Tucson community’s support.

“We went to the intrasquad game, and the arena (which holds about 14,000) was full,” Patty Clark said. “The university seemed like a town unto itself.”

But the major selling point for Olson, without a doubt, is his winning program. In six years in Tucson, Olson has compiled a 139-57 record, including three Pac-10 titles, five consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances and one Final Four trip.

“I felt good about our recruiting of those kids,” Brandenburg said. “It’s not like we got beat by an inferior program. Arizona beats UCLA on some pretty good players, too.

“When you’re a top dog like Arizona, you can do almost anything. (Olson) recruits hard, and he has a good feel. So when there’s a good kid in San Diego, he feels like he can get him.”

At certain times, Egan said, there’s almost a feeling of helplessness.

“All of us are trying to keep the kids here,” he said. “But with us, it’s not exactly a fair fight. One of the things that happens to us is that a lot of kids around here like the Pac-10.”

A lot of kids, including Clark, also seem to like Olson.

“He seemed like a good coach, a good person, and he was easy to get along with,” Clark said.

But being a basketball player at Arizona requires more than just getting along with the coach. Olson requires that prospective recruits be voted on by the team before they are accepted into the Wildcat family.

Obviously, Buechler, Flanagan and Clark had no problems.

“On this year’s team, Jud and Kevin are probably the most positive team type of players we have,” Olson said. “And what we’ve been able to see of Tony, he seems to be the same type.”

Flanagan said the sense of family was very appealing to him.

“The coaching staff here realizes that you can get talented athletes and also quality people,” Flanagan said. “We have a team chemistry. And when we get recruits, we need people who will add to the chemistry and the family.

“Jud told me exactly how it was here. He said: ‘Kevin, I’m a friend of yours, and I’m not going to steer you wrong.’ I told Tony the same thing when he came to visit.”

Said Egan: “Jud’s been happy there, and I think kids recruit kids. That definitely helps the chain.”

Olson said the chain might have been broken if not for Buechler’s high degree of success.

“We’ve been fortunate to do well in San Diego, but Jud has had a very sound career here and has been very visible,” Olson said. “I’m sure that had a lot to do with the other kids coming.”

Last season was Buechler’s best statistically--he averaged 11 points, shot 60.7% (fourth highest in Arizona history) and averaged 6.6 rebounds. But even during his first two years, Buechler was often on the court during crunch time.

Olson said there’s a good reason for that.

“Jud was as fundamentally sound a player as we’ve had come into our program anywhere--and that includes Iowa,” Olson said. “He just the consummate team player. He can score when it’s needed, but he does so many other intangibles for you, including being a great leader. We haven’t selected a captain yet, but when we do, it will probably be Jud.”

Four games into his senior season, Buechler, a 6-6 forward, is averaging 10.8 points, eight rebounds and four assists.

Because of Arizona’s wealth of talent this year, Flanagan will not get an opportunity to make the immediate impact that Buechler did. In fact, Olson said he will probably announce in a few days that Flanagan (6-9, 240) will be red-shirted.

Meanwhile, he will work on his inside game against sophomore big men Brian Williams (ACC freshman of the year at Maryland in 1988) and Chris Mills (14.3 points and 8.7 rebounds at Kentucky last year). Both transferred in the past year.

But Olson says that Clark appears ready to burst onto the college basketball scene like no one in Arizona history, including two-time All-American Sean Elliott.

“Tony reminds me a lot of Sean Elliott,” Olson said. “Actually, Tony is a little bigger and more advanced that Sean was at the same stage. The thing that impresses us with Tony is, as an offensive player, he creates a lot of opportunities for other people.”

This year, Clark is creating a few for himself, averaging 46.2 points and 14 rebounds through five games.

What does Clark think of the Elliott comparisons?

“For me, I don’t see it,” he said. “Those are some heavy shoes to fill.”

If he fills them, the Pipeline may continue to flow for years to come.