NEVADA LAS VEGAS PENALTIES : Southland’s Tarver, O’Bannon Still Have an Out

The penalty levied on the Nevada Las Vegas basketball program Friday by the NCAA could result in the school losing two of its blue-chip recruits, local prep stars Shon Tarver and Ed O’Bannon.

Tarver, of Santa Clara High in Oxnard, and O’Bannon, of Artesia High in Lakewood, made verbal commitments in May to attend Nevada Las Vegas. They did not, however, sign a national letter of intent, retaining the option to choose another school while awaiting the outcome of an NCAA investigation of the university’s 1987 recruitment of New York prep star Lloyd Daniels.

But the severity of the penalty imposed Friday--which bans Nevada Las Vegas from postseason play for the 1990-91 season--was unexpected. It dates to NCAA violations committed by the school in 1977 and is separate from the allegations involving Daniels, the investigation of which was recently completed.

“I really haven’t given it (the penalty) a lot of thought or worry, and I really have no comment,” said Tarver, a 6-foot-5 guard who twice was the state Division IV player of the year. “I’ve signed scholarship papers (with UNLV), but nothing that would bind me to the school.

“If the penalty happened, it happened, and I really haven’t stressed out on what I am going to do next. I will probably talk to Ed, if I can get ahold of him.”

O’Bannon, a 6-foot-8 center-forward who led Artesia to a Southern Section 4-A championship and the state Division II title last season, was in Montevideo, Uruguay, Friday competing in the Junior World Games.

Under NCAA rules, O’Bannon and Tarver could choose another school before they enroll and play right away.

“I’m not familiar with their particular case, but if they don’t have anything signed, there is nothing to hold them,” said Allen Archer, spokesman for the Collegiate Commissioners Assn., which runs the national letter of intent program.

Time is a major factor. If sanctions regarding the Daniels investigation are handed down by the NCAA after O’Bannon and Tarver have enrolled at UNLV, they might not be able to transfer without penalty. That is because their eligibility probably would exceed the length of the school’s penalties. Once a school receives an official list of charges from the NCAA, it has 90 days to respond.

Before announcing his decision to attend Nevada Las Vegas, O’Bannon had narrowed the rest of his list to Arizona State, Syracuse, UCLA and USC. Tarver’s other candidates had been Georgia Tech, Syracuse and UCLA.

UCLA will have three scholarships available next season; USC will have one and Arizona State will have two.

Tarver’s father had previously told The Times that both UCLA and Syracuse had implied that his son would be welcome at their schools if Nevada Las Vegas was penalized by the NCAA.

“Of course, they have to continue to recruit to help their programs, so it’s not certain that they would have a scholarship for him (Shon),” John Tarver said. “They implied that they would.”

Neither UCLA Coach Jim Harrick nor USC Coach George Raveling could be reached for comment.

Also under NCAA rules, Stacy Augmon and Larry Johnson, both seniors at Nevada Las Vegas, could transfer and play immediately at their new schools. However, the NBA said that because its draft was held last month, Johnson and Augmon will have to wait a year to play in the league.