O’Bannon Said Headed for UNLV

Ed O’Bannon of Lakewood, one of the country’s most sought-after high school senior basketball players, is expected to announce today that he will attend Nevada Las Vegas.

Officials at USC who asked not to be identified said Wednesday they expect O’Bannon to orally commit to UNLV.

“I would hate to comment because I’m sworn to secrecy,” Ed O’Bannon Sr. said Wednesday night. “But he has made a decision.”

O’Bannon, 17, has called a news conference this afternoon to announce his decision.

O’Bannon, a 6-foot-8 center-forward, led Artesia High School to a Southern Section 4-A championship and the State Division II title last season.

O’Bannon narrowed his choices in recent weeks to UNLV, Arizona State, Syracuse, USC and UCLA. Jerry Tarkanian, coach of NCAA champion UNLV, and Bill Frieder, Arizona State coach, were guest speakers at Artesia’s recent postseason awards banquet.

Word spread quickly in basketball circles that UNLV will be the choice.

“We haven’t been told that by Ed, but that’s all we’ve heard all day,” said George McQuarn, an Arizona State assistant coach who recruited O’Bannon.

Jim Harrick, UCLA’s coach, said he could not comment on the status of a prospective recruit because of NCAA guidelines.

Despite being double- and triple-teamed, O’Bannon averaged 26 points and 10 rebounds as a senior.

Scouts and coaches praised O’Bannon’s work ethic.

O’Bannon delayed his decision because he failed to score the NCAA-mandated minimum of 700 on the Scholastic Aptitude Test on his first try. He would have been ineligible to attend schools, such as USC, that do not accept Proposition 48 athletes.

O’Bannon scored 790 on his second test.

Whether O’Bannon will sign a letter of intent by Tuesday’s deadline is questionable. UNLV is awaiting the outcome of an NCAA investigation for alleged violations stemming from the recruitment of former New York prep star Lloyd Daniels. That result might not be announced until next fall.

If Nevada Las Vegas’ program is put on probation, incoming freshmen such as O’Bannon and Shon Tarver of Santa Clara High in Oxnard, who has orally committed to UNLV, probably will not be eligible to transfer without penalty--once they have officially signed.

Tarver said O’Bannon did not contact him Wednesday regarding the decision. “But if he’s coming to Vegas, too, then I’m looking forward to playing with him,” he said.