Being a Home-State Pick Might Not Be So Sweet : Basketball: Threat of an arrest on assault charges puts a damper on Cedric Ceballos’ excitement over Wednesday’s NBA draft.

The ultimate experience for Cedric Ceballos would be to play professional basketball in California, the state where he grew up.

“If the Lakers picked me, that would be unbelievable,” said Ceballos, the former Cal State Fullerton star who played at Ventura College and Dominguez High School. “Playing for any California team would be great.”

But if Ceballos, projected as a late first-round or early second-round selection in Wednesday’s NBA draft, is chosen by the Lakers, Clippers, Golden State Warriors or Sacramento Kings, he’ll have more than a contract offer waiting for him in his home state.

There also will be a warrant for his arrest on misdemeanor assault and battery charges.

The charges, filed March 18 against Ceballos,stem from a March 2 incident in which Ceballos allegedly assaulted a 19-year-old former girlfriend in a school dormitory, according to North Orange County Criminal Court records.

According to Chief Dan Byrnes of the Cal State University police, Ceballos and a friend went to the victim’s residence to get a Nike sweat suit and a Chicago Bulls’ jacket, gifts that were apparently given to Ceballos by his girlfriend.

“The woman and he apparently broke up and had a disagreement,” Byrnes said. “She went to Cedric’s residence and confiscated these items while he wasn’t there, and he went to her residence to get them back.”

According to Byrnes, an argument turned into a physical confrontation, in which the woman claims she was assaulted.

“She had scratches and bruises on her right forearm and swelling and discoloration on the left side of her forehead and along the right jaw,” Byrnes said.

Campus police recommended that the county district attorney file charges. However, Ceballos has been out of the state--competing in various NBA-related all-star games and tryout camps and playing in a Houston summer league--since the warrant was issued and has not been formally arrested.

“The district attorney doesn’t extradite on misdemeanor charges, and there’s no penalty for being out of state,” said Capt. Don Spears of the Orange County Marshal’s Office. “But if we have information that he’s returning, we’ll make every effort to arrest him.”

Ceballos, reached by telephone in Houston, refused to discuss the case, but when asked if he thought it would hurt his status in the upcoming draft, he said, “No, because I didn’t do anything.”

Ceballos’ Beverly Hills-based lawyer, Bill Grayson, also declined to comment on the case, but Ceballos’ agent, Tony Bryant, of Sid Blanks Sports in Houston, said:

“It’s a very minor charge, and I don’t even think it will go to trial. It’s an issue the courts need to decide, and I don’t think it will have any effect on Cedric in the draft.”

Ceballos, who was benched by Fullerton Coach John Sneed for the first four minutes of a Big West Tournament game against UC Irvine, in part because of the incident, prefers to focus on the present and future--not the past.

Since leaving Fullerton, where he majored in criminal justice, Ceballos has added 25 pounds to his 6-foot-8 frame, weight that has done wonders for the small but growing forward’s game.

Having beefed up from 190 to 215 pounds, thanks to a high-calorie diet and weight-training program, Ceballos is no longer a pushover on defense, as he was sometimes when larger college players took the ball inside on him.

“Rumors from the pro scouts were that I was too small,” said Ceballos, who averaged 23.1 points and 12.5 rebounds for the Titans this past season. “This has made me stronger, especially when I’m going for defensive position or a rebound. You don’t get knocked around as much with more weight on you.”

Ceballos’ four-a-day meals usually consist of high carbohydrate foods such as pasta and potatoes. Unlike his college diet, he eats a lot of green vegetables and at least one salad a day.

“In college, it was a burger here, a burrito there,” said Ceballos, who hopes to bulk up to 225 pounds. “You don’t have time to follow a diet in college, but it’s a lot easier to do that now.”

Ceballos impressed professional scouts at the Orlando All-Star series, where he averaged more than 20 points in three games, was named to the all-tournament team and won the slam-dunk contest.

Ceballos, who in five years has gone from a high-school reserve to a possible first-round NBA draft pick, also participated in last week’s Chicago camp, which consisted of three days of workouts in front of NBA general managers and coaches.

“It was exciting, because most of the general managers were guys I had looked up to since I was small,” said Ceballos, who turns 21 in August. “I looked at them as superstars instead of GMs, guys like Jerry West, Larry Brown, Willis Reed, Elgin Baylor and K.C. Jones.

“I couldn’t believe these guys were there to watch me. I kind of wanted to ask some of them for autographs, but I thought to myself, ‘If I do well, I’m going to see these people again. If I ask for an autograph, I probably won’t see them again.’ So I didn’t.”

Pro scouts like the way Ceballos runs the court. They like his offensive tenacity--the way he drives to the basket and goes for offensive rebounds. He’s an outstanding, all-around athlete with great body control around the basket.

Marty Blake, director of the NBA’s scouting service, lists Ceballos as one of the top five or six small forwards in this year’s draft, along with Minnesota’s Willie Burton, Mississippi’s Gerald Glass, UCLA’s Trevor Wilson, St. Louis’ Anthony Bonner and Colorado State’s Mike Mitchell, a former Mater Dei High School standout.

“One thing that has always impressed me about Ceballos is he’s not afraid to take the ball inside against bigger people,” Blake said. “I think he needs to work a little on his outside shooting. He’s not a bad shooter, but because he can score inside, he has a tendency to drive instead of shoot.”

Ceballos, who will be on hand for the draft in New York, admits that his head spins a little when he’s mentioned as a possible first-round pick.

“Sometimes I don’t think it’s true,” Ceballos said. “The draft used to be eight or nine rounds, and now it’s just two rounds, so to be one of the 50 picked will be an honor. I count my blessings every day.”

Times staff writer Robyn Norwood contributed to this story.