He’s the Next Prospect at Academy of Tall : Basketball: Eric Pauley, 6-foot-10, is getting attention at Cypress College, a school that has turned out Mark Eaton and Swen Nater.

When Eric Pauley went looking for a community college where he could continue his basketball career, he picked Cypress College in part because of its location. It’s about four miles from his Anaheim home.

But to basketball fans, another reason for his selection seemed more obvious. At 6-feet-10 and 215 pounds, Pauley qualifies as a big man, and Cypress is the place to go if you’re tall. Just ask 7-foot-1 Jim Waikle and 7-foot Don Peck, who also play for the Chargers.

Cypress Coach Don Johnson has a reputation for turning tall projects into Division I prospects, and sometimes more.

Johnson’s most talked about success stories are Mark Eaton, a 1989 NBA All-Star center for the Utah Jazz, and Swen Nater, who is retired from the NBA after a career that included stints with the Clippers and the Lakers.

The pair also share a page in the Cypress media guide titled “Former Cypress Centers.”

Before being recruited by Cypress, Pauley had only a slight idea of the history of Charger basketball.

“I was aware of it a little,” he said. “But in the recruiting process, they made me very aware of it. But I feel I am a different sort of big guy; I’m a four (power forward) and not a five (center).”

Pauley shuns most comparisons to Eaton (1978-79) and Nater (1969-70) but does share the Cypress single-game record for blocked shots with Eaton at 10.

Pauley still is the focus of much pressure from Johnson and his staff to excel.

“He likes to play the game, but he’s not always banging the gym door down to get in,” Johnson said. “He has gotten stronger physically and mentally, but he has plenty of room to get stronger in both areas. . . . But we would really be nowhere without him. He has made some great strides at times.”

Before the championship of the Golden West Tournament in early December, Johnson forecasted doom for Pauley and the Chargers in the final against Cerritos.

Johnson figured the Falcons were so quick and would put so much pressure on Pauley that it was doubtful he would withstand the attack.

But Pauley answered Johnson--his toughest critic--with 22 points in a 65-57 victory. Pauley was selected the tournament’s most valuable player.

“I’m more competitive this year than last,” Pauley said. “But I know I need to get a little stronger and tougher. That would help me.”

Pauley’s season got off to a slow start because of nagging knee and ankle injuries, but he has overcome both and has played well since the second week. He is averaging 21.6 points and 9.5 rebounds per game.

“He has an internal fire to play the game,” Johnson said. “I would just like to see it on the outside a little more.”

Pauley is shooting an impressive 66% (175 of 266) from the field, which is just below his free-throw average of 70% (82 of 117). He scored a career-high 33 points Dec. 22 against Eastern Utah and had 31 Thursday against Rancho Santiago.

Pauley picked up his shooting even more in Cypress’ first two Orange Empire Conference games last week, making 19 of 23 shots (83%).

Pauley averaged 10.9 points and 7.1 rebounds last season as a freshman at Cypress.

If Pauley continues at his current pace, he would move into the top five in single-season and career rebounds for Cypress. He also needs 36 blocked shots to surpass the career mark of 220 set by Eaton. He had 123 last season and has 62 this season.

Because of all his success the last two years, Pauley is one of the most sought-after community college players in Orange County. He has received letters from more than 50 Division I colleges and has taken a recruiting trip to Colorado State.

Kansas, Colorado, Wake Forest, New Mexico State, UC Irvine, Colorado and Arizona State are among the colleges actively pursuing him.

“It’s all pretty new to me,” Pauley said. “But I guess it’s better than not being recruited at all.”

Actually, when Pauley was a freshman at Savanna High School, he never really thought much about college, or even basketball.

That all changed the summer before his sophomore year. He was 5-feet-9 when his freshman year ended, but over the summer had a nine-inch growth spurt that sent his life in a new direction.

“I just kept growing out of my clothes,” he said. “Before it happened, I thought I would finish up high school, get a warehouse job and college was pretty much out of the question.”

Upon returning for his sophomore year, he couldn’t get away from people who bugged him about playing basketball, something he had rarely done before.

Pauley’s chief antagonist was his English teacher, Tom Gregory, who was also the varsity basketball coach.

Finally, Pauley relented and spent his first year on the sophomore team, trying to learn the rules as much as anything else.

He played some with the varsity as a junior. As a senior, he was a starter with a 13-point average, and Savanna won the Orange League title. Pauley received all-league honors.

Cal State Fullerton and the University of San Francisco were the only four-year colleges that talked to him, but in both cases the interest was slight and neither offered a scholarship.

Once Pauley chose to attend Cypress, he also decided to red-shirt, since he was only 17. He turned 20 last month.

“I wanted to give my body a chance to catch up,” he said. “And I think it has.”