Recruiting Allegations Against Harrick Revived : College basketball: Documents written by Don MacLean’s high school coach state that UCLA coach made improper visit. And a former Bruin assistant claims university cover-up.

An account of Don MacLean’s recruitment, written by his high school coach, states that UCLA basketball Coach Jim Harrick visited the star player’s home at a time when face-to-face contact between coaches and players was prohibited by NCAA rules.

In addition, allegations have been made by a former assistant coach that two vice chancellors at UCLA asked potential witnesses not to cooperate when the NCAA looked into the recruitment, which also would be a violation of NCAA regulations.

These new allegations stem from the controversial 1988 recruitment of MacLean, a 6-foot-10 forward from Simi Valley High School. The recruitment has been the subject of two NCAA inquiries and a segment of the book “Raw Recruits,” which dealt with the unseemly ways that some colleges recruit players. Neither the NCAA nor the Pacific 10 Conference could find any evidence of wrongdoing.

However, a six-page chronology written by Bob Hawking, MacLean’s coach at Simi Valley, and obtained recently by The Times, states that UCLA was in violation of NCAA rules. Hawking’s notes, plus the NCAA’s renewed interest, have brought the three-year-old incident to focus again.

The most serious accusation documented is that MacLean signed a letter of intent in Harrick’s presence on Sunday, April 24, 1988--during a 48-hour period in which coaches were forbidden to contact recruits. The so-called “dead period” was established by the NCAA to give prospects a break from the pressures of recruiters so they can consider all options before signing.

Hawking’s notes deal with events surrounding MacLean’s recruitment between April 12 and May 13, 1988. Hawking was upset because he said he was promised an assistant coaching job at UCLA by Harrick and--on the day MacLean finally signed--was told he would not be hired. That prompted Hawking to reconstruct, in notes, the events surrounding MacLean’s recruitment and Hawking’s ill-fated job offer.

Hawking, now a UC Davis assistant, declined to discuss his written account with The Times, but an NCAA investigator did and is prepared to interview principals in the earlier inquiries again.

THE RECRUITMENT

While at Simi Valley High, MacLean was heavily recruited by UCLA, Georgia Tech, Kentucky and Nevada Las Vegas. UCLA became a front-runner on March 30, however, when the school fired Coach Walt Hazzard. MacLean did not care for Hazzard because the coach had not come to watch him play.

As the signing date approached, only UCLA and Georgia Tech were left in the running. MacLean wanted to stay near home because of his close relationship with his mother, Pat.

On April 12, Harrick, the coach at Pepperdine, was hired at UCLA, boosting the Bruins’ chances of signing MacLean. Harrick and Hawking were longtime friends and worked summer basketball camps together.

According to Hawking’s notes, Harrick told Hawking’s wife, “I’m going to take care of your family,” the day Harrick was named UCLA coach. The notes also say that Harrick and Hawking spoke by phone on April 14.

Still, Harrick was concerned about losing MacLean to Georgia Tech Coach Bobby Cremins. The UCLA coach needed to sign a big-time recruit to start his Bruin career with momentum.

Hawking wrote that Harrick met with MacLean and his mother for 45 minutes in a “security officers room after banquet” at the 1988 McDonald’s All-Star high school game in Albuquerque, N.M., on April 15. According to NCAA rules, coaches cannot meet unsigned players or their parents at such events.

On April 16, Hawking wrote, he had lunch with Harrick and on April 17 was offered a job for $40,000 to be an assistant coach. The chronology continues by saying that Harrick tried to facilitate the signing from Lake Tahoe on April 22 by calling MacLean.

The entry read: “Don gets Apt. (apartment) with Trevor (Wilson) if he agrees to sign on Sun.”

Wilson is a former Bruin forward who played with MacLean in San Fernando Valley summer basketball leagues.

APRIL 24, 1988

MacLean still had not announced his intentions the weekend before the signing date. He was considering his options during a 48-hour period in which the NCAA prohibits in-person contacts when Harrick allegedly arrived at the MacLeans’ door on April 24.

According to “Raw Recruits,” written by Alexander Wolff and Armen Keteyian, the MacLeans were surprised to find that Harrick had come to their house the day before the Monday signing date. Still, they let him in.

Hawking’s entry for April 24 reads:

“--Meeting at Don’s house between Harrick, Pat MacLean, Steve Coyne (Pat’s boyfriend, now husband) + Don.

“--Don signs letter in presence of Harrick.”

Hawking, who was not present at the meeting, does not elaborate in his notes. However, sources said Harrick’s alleged visit lasted 15 minutes, but before he left, MacLean telephoned Kris Jason, a UCLA assistant who had recruited the player for Hazzard. MacLean reportedly told Jason that Harrick was in the house.

MacLean told Jason, “Harrick’s here.”

Jason was aware of the rules of improper contact and told MacLean to tell Harrick: “I don’t like a coach in heat.”

It was a phrase Harrick frequently had used in previous conversations with Jason.

Jason, who originally was hired by Hazzard, wanted to stay on staff, but Harrick let him go after four months.

Jason, who recently resigned as recruiting coordinator for the University of Hawaii, refused to discuss the telephone call with The Times.

“I’ll just take the Fifth and hold off and wait and see what develops,” he said.

“I never did anything wrong. I may have some knowledge of some particular wrongdoing. I was involved.”

After getting MacLean’s signature on a letter of intent, Harrick stopped at Hawking’s house in Simi Valley. Harrick told Hawking that he would be unable to hire him because of the appearances of a package deal. Harrick did not mention his visit with MacLean.

Peter Dalis, UCLA athletic director, said last week that he stopped Harrick from hiring Hawking.

“I said, ‘It would be inappropriate to hire him, given the fact that you’re recruiting one of the top players in the country, who happens to be this fellow’s coach,’ ” Dalis said.

THE FALLOUT

Hawking’s notes say that he found out about Harrick’s visit to MacLean’s house a few days later from Georgia Tech’s Cremins. Cremins said he discovered what happened when MacLean’s mother mentioned it in a phone conversation the day it occurred.

“I called Jim about it,” Cremins said in “Raw Recruits.” “It’s a real pet peeve of mine, coaches being out during dead periods.”

Cremins refused to discuss any details of the incident one day before the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament earlier this month. But he did not deny that Pat MacLean accidentally had mentioned the improper visit.

“Jim Harrick and I talked about that, and as far as I know Don MacLean went to UCLA because of the distance close to home and everything,” Cremins told The Times. “That was it. But that’s over the hill. I decided never to talk about that again. It’s been two years.”

Hawking’s notes say that he confronted MacLean on April 28 about the alleged illegal visit on April 24, but no additional information is given.

The last entry from Hawking, all of it paraphrasing Harrick, was for May 13:

“--Can’t get it done.

“--Yes you (Hawking) can blow me (Harrick) up but who will that help.

“--I can help you, but not right now.”

Hawking could not accept the rationale for not being hired and wrote that it was not “a reasonable ‘after the fact’ criteria for breeching this contract. I was offered the job based on my qualifications.”

Hawking wrote that if he did not get the job he “would rather settle financially out of media’s eye. I do not want to hurt Don or myself.”

In another section, Hawking wrote, “I want the job--even though now it may be an impossible situation--due to my lack of respect for (Harrick) and his feelings of possible blackmail, by pursuing legal avenues.”

Hawking then took his notes and sought advice from lawyers Jerry Roth and Robert Young. Roth is an attorney for former coach Hazzard and former assistant coach Jack Hirsch.

“(Hawking) was deeply distressed and considering what remedies he had,” Young said. “He went over the entire situation, the signing, the job offer, all the material he had.”

The material included a letter Harrick’s wife, Sally, had sent to Hawking’s wife, Jeannie, on May 2, 1988.

The letter said: “The hardest thing Jim has had to do so far, was to come over that Sunday night and talk with you and Bob. . . . Jim feels very confidant (sic) that Bob will get into the college ranks. That may not help, but patience is a virtue, believe me!”

Shortly after that, Hawking became a part-time assistant at Pepperdine, which Harrick had left for UCLA. Harrick’s former assistant, Tom Asbury, was the Waves’ new coach who hired Hawking.

Asbury, reached at Salt Lake City where his team lost in the first round of the NCAA playoffs, said: “I’ve known the guy for 10 years as a high school coach. It had nothing to do with Harrick. We hired him because he was the best candidate available, not because of recommendations from anybody.”

TALK OF A COVER-UP

After the publication of “Raw Recruits” last March, the NCAA started an inquiry into the recruitment of MacLean that quickly ended without any action.

But according to a statement given by former assistant Hirsch to the NCAA last month, UCLA administrators had asked potential witnesses not to cooperate in any inquiry about MacLean’s recruitment. Hirsch worked for two UCLA administrators after being fired with Hazzard in March of 1988.

Hirsch told investigators that in May of 1988, when he worked for Elwin V. Svenson, vice chancellor in charge of institutional relations, Hirsch told Svenson what he knew about MacLean’s signing.

“I told (Svenson) everything about the illegal visit,” Hirsch told investigators. “I also told him at least seven people know this happened, and he should stop it (disclose it to the NCAA) immediately. He proceeded to tell me to mind my own business . . . we will do what is necessary to protect ourselves.”

Svenson said Hirsch mentioned the incident to him at a time when UCLA already had asked investigators to examine it.

“I said, ‘Jack, whenever you know something, you ought to disclose it. We’ve already requested that there be an investigation,’ ” Svenson said.

Svenson said UCLA was one of the country’s first schools to report violations voluntarily, a process that many universities follow today.

“On (the MacLean allegation) it came up early on and was investigated by the Pac-10, and every time it has come up again it has been investigated,” Svenson said. “We were very prompt in investigating that allegation.”

David Price, associate commissioner of the Pacific 10 Conference, said he did not know of the allegation until the spring of 1989 when he was informed by an anonymous caller. He said that he contacted the principal parties then and again last December. He characterized the most recent questioning as on-going.

Other UCLA administrators became involved in the MacLean case after Roth, Hazzard and Hirsch’s attorney were contacted by the NCAA last May. Although Roth refused initially to discuss what he knew of MacLean’s recruitment, he told an NCAA investigator he would reconsider.

Hirsch said that John Sandbrook, the assistant chancellor he worked for at the time, told him it would be in Hirsch’s best interest to stop Roth from talking to the NCAA. Sandbrook denied the claim.

“I’m deeply disappointed that such an untrue statement would be made,” Sandbrook said last December.

Hirsch also told investigators that shortly after Sandbrook’s alleged warning, Hazzard received a call from Winston C. Dolby, vice chancellor of student affairs. Hazzard had interviewed for a basketball coaching position at Howard University in Washington D.C..

Hazzard, who declined to comment, was told that his chances of coaching could be affected if Roth gave a statement to the NCAA, Hirsch said. Hazzard, who works in the Young Black Scholars program at UCLA, has been Dolby’s friend for about 30 years.

“It was a threat, but (Dolby) was acting on behalf of other administrators,” a UCLA employee familiar with the situation said.

Hirsch said Dolby also called attorney Roth.

“(Dolby) called and wanted to know what I was going to say to the NCAA,” Roth said. “I told him I would not discuss what I knew, but I would give names of others. He said, ‘Don’t do that. That could create problems for UCLA and could affect careers of friends of yours in coaching. Just give them no comment. He said, ‘I’m just trying to protect your friends, specifically Walt.’ ”

Dolby said: “I find all of this absolutely incredible. My discussions with Walt Hazzard and Jerry Roth had absolutely nothing to do with the recruitment of Don MacLean. . . . I don’t remember my discussions with Jerry. To characterize that I made a special call to them to do anything of this sort is totally untrue. I have never, ever said, ‘Jerry Roth, you should not talk to the NCAA.’ ”

Hirsch told the investigators that Roth also was contacted by Athletic Director Dalis and Stephen Salm, assistant athletic director.

Roth said he told Salm, “I’m upset that Winston called. Walt had nothing to do with MacLean. Harrick walked into that house during the dead period, no one else.”

Salm and Dalis did not tell him not to speak to the NCAA, Roth said.

INQUIRIES--PAST AND PRESENT

MacLean, who was UCLA’s leading scorer this season, has denied the alleged illegal contact so many times that he has asked the Bruin sports information department to shield him from further inquiries.

Pat Coyne, MacLean’s mother, said the family is frustrated by the lingering questions involving the signing.

“Whatever these people and their problems are, you’ll have to work it out with them, but my son’s record is clear,” Coyne said. “It’s a closed issue. It’s been investigated. I don’t understand why this is being brought up again, I really don’t. I don’t know what is to be gained.”

Coyne said that Dalis and the Pac-10’s Price had questioned her and MacLean about the incident before and came away satisfied the allegation was untrue.

“The thing that is extremely disturbing to me is I work very hard as a mother to keep my son straight and aboveboard because there are lots of illegal things that has gone on with different schools,” she said. “None of this happened to us. I did everything in my power and Don did everything right, according to the rules. He felt that way. This kid has worked far too hard to have anything ruin his career.”

Harrick offered a similar response when asked about the situation the day after his Bruins were eliminated from the NCAA Tournament by Penn State.

“Ask anyone if they saw it,” Harrick said. “Was he (Hawking) there? Did he see it? It gets to the point where you ask yourself, ‘Well, did anyone see that happen?’ You can do a lot of talking, but did anyone see that happen? And you’ll find out that no one saw that happening. Bob Hawking didn’t see it, nobody saw it. Mrs. MacLean said it didn’t happen, Don said it didn’t happen and I said it didn’t happen, but if someone says it happened, well then, who saw it?”

Hawking denied any knowledge of the MacLean signing when called by the NCAA on Feb. 21, as well as last week. However, he did not deny the existence of hand-written notes in an interview with The Times.

“At this point, I’m not at liberty to talk about it,” Hawking said of his notes. “A lot of things are going on that are of higher priority to me and the people who are involved.

“I think everybody has a perception right now even though my opinion was never solicited as to what the facts of the situation were,” Hawking said. “This already has affected my career.”

Jason, who received the phone call from MacLean on April 24, said he would be forthright with NCAA investigators.

“I won’t lie to the NCAA. . . . I’ve never been involved in a cover-up, which could be one consideration,” said Jason, Hirsch’s brother-in-law.

Jason gave a noncommittal response last week in a telephone conversation with Price of the Pac-10. But the NCAA and Pac-10 are trying to schedule meetings with Hawking and Jason in California this week to review their statements.

David Didion, who has been the NCAA investigator in all the inquiries, said he has no deadline to determine whether the new information warrants an investigation. MacLean, however, is considering declaring himself eligible for the NBA draft later this spring.

If he leaves the university, he will no longer be bound by NCAA regulations to give a statement.

Didion said the NCAA may reopen the case to pursue new leads if the latest information can be substantiated. Didion was also told that Hawking had taped a conversation between Hawking and MacLean in which the player admits to the illegal signing.

“He denied knowledge of a tape, he denied he had hand-written notes,” Didion said. “He said that it was just not true. He said there was no job offer involved.”

However, if the investigator can establish that the notes are authentic, Hawking could be sanctioned by the NCAA under rules of ethical conduct for knowingly withholding investigation pertinent to an inquiry. Furthermore, UCLA could be dealt with more severely if it is shown that university representatives were not forthright with investigators.

“An institution compounds its problem greatly if it attempts to (suppress) the information that other people have provided, or go to great lengths to report false and misleading information,” Didion said.