PREP SIGNINGS : Duke Gets Twin Towers From the Southland

Duke’s basketball program made recruiting inroads on the West Coast this week by signing two of the Southland’s top prospects, centers Cherokee Parks of Huntington Beach Marina High and Erik Meek of Escondido San Pasqual.

The 6-foot-11 Parks and the 6-10 Meek signed letters of intent Wednesday, the first day of the NCAA’s weeklong early-signing period.

Each player was heavily recruited by UCLA.

Parks, who averaged 22 points, 13 rebounds and 3.5 blocked shots a game last season, chose Duke over Arizona, Arizona State, Kentucky and UCLA. He made an oral commitment to the Blue Devils three weeks ago.

Meek, who averaged 28.5 points and 12.5 rebounds as a junior, also considered Kansas, Stanford and Vanderbilt. He reached his decision Tuesday. Meek said earlier he wouldn’t attend Duke since Parks was already committed to the school.

Parks and Meek are considered two of the top high school centers in the country and each has been mentioned on several preseason All-American teams.

Duke has made four Final Four appearances in the past five years, including a lopsided loss to Nevada Las Vegas in last season’s championship game.

On the anticipated competition with Meek for the center position, Parks said: “It depends on how both of us mature. We could go with a two-man inside game.”

The early signings gave Duke a decided advantage over UCLA and USC. The Bruins’ only local signing thus far is by 5-10 guard Tyus Edney of Long Beach Poly. No Southland player has signed with the Trojans.

The majority of top players in this area have signed with out-of-state schools or are waiting for the late-signing period in April.

Crenshaw guard Kevin Ollie signed with Connecticut; San Bernardino forward Ray Owes signed with Arizona; Los Angeles Fremont guard Chris Ford signed with UC Santa Barbara, and guard Dwain Bradberry of Manual Arts signed with Cal State Fullerton.

Guard Kevin Griffis of L.A. Washington signed with New Orleans, and teammate Barnabas James, a forward, also is expected to sign with New Orleans in the next few days.

Although some players sign early so they can concentrate on their senior season, many wait until the spring. Manual Arts Coach Randolph Simpson said he weighs that decision carefully with all of his players.

“If a kid is sure of the school, the coaching staff, teammates and education, then I think it’s OK to sign early,” Simpson said. “But if he’s just signing early because of the scholarship, then I’d advise him to wait. That’s not a good enough reason.”

In recent years, most players at Manual Arts have waited. Simpson said his high-profile program draws a lot of college coaches during the season. That extra exposure helped center Kent Bennett get a scholarship to Kansas State two years ago and allowed center William Celestine to get a scholarship from Drake last season.

Manual Arts forward Kevin Beal is in a similar situation this season. The 6-4 player has offers from Cal State Fullerton, Boise State and Colorado but is hoping to get into a better program.

“I’m waiting until the spring because I want to let my play speak for itself,” Beal said. “I’ve gotten plenty of interest so far, and those coaches have pressured me to sign early. But I’m confident I can do better.

“I want to have more time to visit schools and see where my place on a team might be. You don’t always know what the coaches have in mind for you when you sign early.”

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