Visits by O’Bannon Have NCAA at UNLV : College basketball: Investigators talk to players, coaches about recruitment of Los Angeles player.

NCAA investigators have inquired into possible violations stemming from Nevada Las Vegas’ recruitment of Ed O’Bannon, a former Lakewood Artesia High basketball star who is attending UCLA.

“They came in and talked to a couple players and coaches about O’Bannon,” said Jerry Tarkanian, UNLV coach. “There is absolutely nothing to it. We’re not worried at all.”

Mark Jones, NCAA director of enforcement, and Bob Stroup, an enforcement representative who investigated the last case involving UNLV, were in Las Vegas Monday and Tuesday talking to players and coaches. O’Bannon gave an unwritten commitment to attend Las Vegas last spring but decided to go to UCLA after the Rebels were sanctioned for recruiting violations involving a 13-year-old case.

According to sources familiar with the inquiry, investigators are looking into an official visit and unofficial visits made by O’Bannon to UNLV and his activities during those visits.

Among those at the school who have been interviewed are forwards Stacey Augmon and Larry Johnson, center George Ackles and freshman guard H Waldman, according to a report on Las Vegas station KVBC-TV. Ackles reportedly was O’Bannon’s student host when O’Bannon made an official recruiting visit to UNLV in February of 1990.

Tarkanian said he was not asked about O’Bannon’s recruitment during a brief interview with investigators Tuesday.

The NCAA’s presence at Las Vegas this week could be a matter of timing. As seniors, Ackles, Johnson and Augmon no longer will be required by NCAA rules to deal with the enforcement staff when their eligibility expires after the NCAA tournament, which begins next week.

The O’Bannon situation is separate from the 29 allegations lodged against Las Vegas by the NCAA in a letter of official inquiry sent to the university in December.

UNLV has until May 1 to respond to those charges, many of which deal with the school’s recruitment of former New York City high school player Lloyd Daniels in 1986.

O’Bannon and another leading Southland recruit, Shon Tarver, decided to attend UCLA after the NCAA last summer banned Las Vegas from television appearances and postseason play for violations involving an investigation in the mid-’70s. After an appeal by UNLV, the bans were delayed until next season.

Because neither signed a letter of intent, they did not have to sit out a season before becoming eligible. But O’Bannon, a 6-foot-8 forward, suffered a severe knee injury during a pickup game in the John Wooden Center before the season started. He is a medical redshirt this season.

O’Bannon could not be reached for comment.

How NCAA officials will handle the O’Bannon case, if it becomes an official inquiry, is difficult to determine.

The NCAA has, on occasion, developed new information about an athletic program while that program is the subject of an official inquiry. In such instances, the new information can either be incorporated with the charges outlined in the official inquiry or used to create a new set of charges to be dealt with by the school at a later date, according to Richard Hilliard, an NCAA director of enforcement.