Cleveland to Lose McCook to an Early Graduation

When Cleveland High basketball Coach Marc Paez thinks about Pat McCook, a flurry of numbers come to mind.

McCook, who played off-guard for the City Section 4-A Division semifinalists last season, has grown to almost 6-foot-6 during the past few months. And Paez said McCook, whose 12.4-point scoring average was third best on the team, is capable of scoring 18-23 points a night.

But there are a few daunting statistics involved, because McCook’s numbers in the academic arena are pretty solid, too. So satisfactory, in fact, that McCook will graduate June 21.

That is a year earlier than he had hoped.

McCook, the Cavaliers’ sixth man, lost an appeal to play another season at Cleveland. As a result, McCook will graduate without having been fully evaluated by college scouts and Paez will lose one of the area’s best swingmen.

“I had anticipated losing him at about the midseason point,” said Paez. “But I was still somewhat hopeful that they could work something out.”

McCook’s academic track record took some time to sort out, Paez said. As a freshman, McCook attended school in Toronto, then moved to Georgia. McCook, 17, has been enrolled at Cleveland for the past two years.

Paez said that Cleveland administrators, after reviewing McCook’s transcripts, ruled that he had enough units to graduate this year. The McCook family appealed to Los Angeles Unified School District officials, Paez said, but the decision was upheld.

“They pursued it,” Paez said. “But there was no getting around it--he was of senior standing.”

For McCook, it is a win-lose proposition. He gets to graduate, but he has lost any chance at a scholarship--something many seniors at Cleveland have landed recently. Among this year’s seniors who earned scholarships are Eddie Hill (Washington State); Trenton Cornelius (Washington); Bobby McRae (Cal Poly Pomona); and Andre Chevalier (CS Northridge).

Only Hill (16.3) and sophomore Brandon Martin (13.6) averaged more points a game than McCook, and both were starters.

“The confusion definitely hurt him in the area of recruiting,” Paez said. “He’s looking at a few (junior colleges) now, and he’s talented enough to where he should be able to play for two years and get a Division I ride.”

McCook’s perimeter shooting and leaping ability made him one of the area’s most productive players in terms of points per minute. His impact usually could be felt seconds after he entered a game.

“The timing was very unfortunate,” Paez said.