Toros’ Barksdale Proving His Point : Basketball: Dominguez Hills’ point guard realizes he won’t play in the NBA, but says his college experience has been invaluable.

Robert Barksdale was cutting his hair a week ago when the shears slipped, ruining an otherwise perfect haircut.

The solution?

Barksdale, a 6-foot-1 guard for the men’s basketball team at Cal State Dominguez Hills, showed up at practice the next day with his head shaved.

The Hawthorne resident laughs about the grooming mistake now, but the incident illustrates how far he is willing to go to get the job done while keeping his perspective. That enduring quality will probably be his legacy when he walks off the floor for Dominguez Hills for the final time later this season, having contributed to at least 60 of the 200-plus victories of Coach Dave Yanai.

“I’m so proud of Robert,” said Yanai, who has coached the Toros for 14 seasons. “He has worked so hard to get where he is at. All that time he has spent with us. He’s such a good kid.”

But there is more to the man they call “Rocco” than basketball. An articulate realist, Barksdale is an ad-hoc spokesman for the university. He is as unflappable in front of a microphone or in a suit and tie before a group of people as he is at the free-throw line at crunch time. He is polite and intelligent and has never turned down an interview, even after a heartbreaking loss.

A senior, Barksdale said he tries to keep his goals in perspective.

“I have to be realistic,” he said. “I’m playing at a Division II school. I’m going to graduate in May. I need only three more classes. I’m not going to go on to the NBA. This is it.”

Barksdale, who graduated from Hawthorne High in 1985, took a partial scholarship at the University of Oklahoma. But less than a semester later, after making the Sooner traveling squad, he was back in Southern California.

“Coming out of high school, most guys are short-sighted,” he said. “A lot of guys just want to play at a big school that gets on TV. I wasn’t thinking about the main things, like what it was like to live (in Oklahoma). I’m from the city. I hated it.”

Barksdale, now 22, found a home in Carson.

“Coming to Dominguez Hills was the best thing for me,” he said. “I got my education for free. That’s something a lot of people don’t get. I get to be interviewed by a reporter. I could tell you 20 things that I have gained from this place. Separate from basketball, just growing up and helping me become a man has been worth it.”

Barksdale has had a solid career at Dominguez Hills. As a freshman he came off the bench and eventually earned a starting job late in the season. As a sophomore he was a streaky three-point shooting starter at off-guard who earned first-team All-California Collegiate Athletic Assn. honors. He averaged 13.4 points for a team that went 20-10 and advanced to the Western Regionals.

Then came last season’s frustrating 10-17 junior season. Barksdale was the only returning starter and Yanai had to use him at point guard. Barksdale played 36 minutes a game and early in the season he scored 36 points, second highest single-game total in school history.

But in early January, worn down by so much playing time, he was felled by the flu. He spent a week in bed, missed three games and lost 15 pounds. After his return, he never regained his shooting touch or starting job.

Yanai insists that lesser men would have wilted under such failure.

“Robert is playing very well,” Yanai said. “I have been very hard on him. I expected so much out of him.”

Although he has not started every game this season, Barksdale is averaging slightly less than 35 minutes of playing time each game.

The Toros opened this season 0-3, but appear to be bouncing back. They are now 5-4.

“When I go into a game, I don’t feel like I have to have a big game, because we have a lot of other people that can do it, too,” he said.

Some of his time has been spent back at point guard, although as the season progresses and other players, notably senior transfer Keith Billingslea and recently activated freshman Sal Serrano, take over the role, it is more likely that Barksdale will swing over to the No. 2 guard position.

For the moment, he will continue to handle most of the point guard duties. His value to the Toros was evident in a Dec. 17 game against Grand Canyon, when he scored a season-high 24 points. More important, he appeared more effective than any other Toro at running the offense. After the game, Barksdale said: “We have the potential to be one of the best teams in the league, but, like coach says, potential never wins anything, it depends on how you play.”

Yanai said one of Barksdale’s best qualities is that he learns from his mistakes.

Which means, among other things, he’ll probably go to a barber shop the next time he needs a haircut.