Whitlock Scores Points, Visits Schools, but Can’t Sign a Letter : Preps: Low academic scores keep county’s record-setter from committing on first day of spring signing period.

No one has questioned Tes Whitlock’s ability to score on the basketball court.

But Whitlock’s scores on his college entrance exams could be all that stand between him and five Division I schools trying to sign him.

Whitlock, a 6-foot-1 guard from Loara High School, scored 600 on his Scholastic Aptitude Test, 100 shy of the standard required by NCAA rules, Loara Coach Ed Prange said.

Whitlock, who led the county with a 33.5-point average, has visited Arizona State, Arizona, Cal State Long Beach and Utah and took an unofficial visit to Oklahoma. He said Wednesday night that he will chose between Arizona State, Long Beach and Oklahoma sometime this week.

But he couldn’t sign a letter of intent with any school Wednesday, the first day of the spring signing period.

“I’m just hanging out right now,” Whitlock said. “I might commit to a school later this week.”

Prange said Whitlock might also have had trouble qualifying to compete as a college freshman under NCAA criteria concerning high school grade-point averages and progress in “core” courses such as English, math, history and science.

“I think all the schools recruiting Tes pretty much knew he would be academically ineligible,” Prange said. “Even if he had scored 700, I don’t know if he would have been eligible because of his core courses. He probably won’t be able to sign with a school.”

Whitlock said he plans to take the SAT again May 1.

“I’m pretty confident I’m going to get through this,” he said. “Right now, I want to get that 700 on the SAT. I’m taking some night-school classes--science and history--to help with my core classes.”

Whitlock’s scoring on the basketball court has made him one of the most sought-after players in Orange County. He scored 68 points against Saddleback last season to break the county’s 80-year-old single-game record.

Prange said Whitlock has several options.

If scores at least 700 on the SAT, and his GPA and core courses qualify under NCAA rules, he could sign with any school.

“The schools will still take a chance on him academically,” Prange said. “He still has two or three more chances to take (the SAT). That was his first time taking it. He can do better.”

Whitlock could be admitted to a university in the fall and pay for his education the first year, or qualify for financial aid based on need. If he maintains a 2.0 college GPA and passes entrance exams, he could then sign with any Division I school while losing a year of eligibility.

Whitlock also could play for a junior college next season, although Prange said that’s not an option at this point.

“He at least wants to make an oral commitment to a (Division I) school,” Prange said.

Early signees: Most of the top players in the county signed during the early period in October. That included Cherokee Parks of Marina, who will join NCAA-champion Duke.

Parks has drawn quite a bit of attention since the end of the high school regular season:

He had mixed reviews during postseason all-star games. He scored 14 points, pulled down 16 rebounds and was named MVP of the Capital Classic in Washington, D.C., two weeks ago. But he played little in the McDonald’s game last Saturday, finishing with five points.

Parks, nicknamed “chief,” met another chief--President Bush--during festivities at the Capital Classic.

And what did 6-11 Parks say when he met 6-foot Bush?

“Mr. President, will you autograph my tie?”

Bush obliged, signing Parks’ red tie with a pen.

“I’m going to get it framed,” Parks said.

Dick Vitale, the ABC and ESPN announcer who deals superlatives as though they were assists, lists Parks among his “diaper dandies”--incoming freshmen who should make an immediate impact. “Cherokee is perfect for the puzzle at Duke,” Vitale said. “He’ll be a major factor from Day 1 and the perfect complement for (Christian) Laettner along the baseline.”

Also signing early were Santa Margarita’s Chris Hacker (Cal Poly Pomona), Irvine’s John Molle (San Diego State) and Ocean View’s Marcel TenBerge (Colorado State). Brea-Olinda’s Jinelle Williams was the county’s only girl player to sign early, with UC Irvine.

Ocean View’s Ryan Martin, a 6-3 guard, signed with Cal State Northridge. Martin is a three-year starter for the Seahawks, averaging 18.3 points as a senior.

Martin has a 3.3 GPA and plans to study physical education. He also was recruited by San Diego State and Hawaii.

Huntington Beach’s Mustapha Abdi, a 6-3 forward, is waiting for his SAT scores and has yet to commit to a college. Huntington Beach Coach Roy Miller said Abdi, who averaged 24.1 points last season, is considering several schools, including University of the Pacific, USC and Chapman.

“We’re just in a sit-and-wait mode right now,” Miller said. “Mustapha’s leaving all his options open.”

Tustin guard David Beilstein is sticking with his decision not to play college basketball. Beilstein, the Southern Section Division II player of the year, turned down a scholarship from UC Santa Barbara, Tustin Coach Tom McCluskey said.

Loara’s Tracy Titus, The Times’ girls’ player of the year, has visited USC and Hawaii and will travel to Nevada Las Vegas in two weeks.

“Personally, I hope she goes to USC,” Loara Coach Lynn Parish said. “I have a selfish reason. I hope she stays close to home so I can go see her play in college.”

The Borella factor: Josh Borella of Laguna Beach is unsigned, but the 6-foot guard played well last weekend for the Orange Crush all-star team in the Basketball Congress International Senior Prep Classic in Birmingham, Ala.

Borella, who averaged 30.6 points a game last season, is being recruited by Chapman and Hawaii Hilo.

But Borella might have spurred interest from other colleges after averaging 20 points with a high-game of 26 in leading Orange Crush to a third-place finish in the 32-team tournament. He was named to the all-tournament team.

With the NCAA reducing to 14 the number of basketball scholarships a school can offer next season and 13 in 1992-93, some players are considering walking on at Division I programs.

Among them is Thomas Clayton, a 6-2 forward at Tustin. Clayton said he’s considering San Jose State, coached by former USC Coach Stan Morrison.

“Coach (Morrison) definitely wants me to go there and walk on,” Clayton said. “It just depends on a college prep course I have to take--biology.”

Santa Ana’s Chauncey Woolridge, a 6-5 forward, has narrowed his choices to Pacific and Cal State Fullerton.

“I would like to go to Fullerton, but I’m not sure what’s going on with all the coaching problems there,” said Woolridge, who averaged 27.1 points and 12.3 rebounds last season. “I visited Pacific, too. It’s down to whichever makes the best offer with a scholarship.”

Times staff writers Tom Hamilton and Chris Foster contributed to this story.

BASKETBALL: WHERE THEY’RE HEADED

BOYS

Name High School Position Hgt. Mustapha Abdi Huntington Beach Forward 6-3 Josh Borella Laguna Beach Guard 6-0 Thomas Clayton Tustin Forward 6-1 Mike Fenton Woodbridge Center 6-7 Chris Hacker-x Santa Margarita Center 6-8 Ryan Martin Ocean View Forward 6-3 John Molle-x Irvine Forward 6-5 Cherokee Parks-x Marina Center 6-11 Ryan Rauch Woodbridge Forward 6-4 Marcel TenBerge-x Ocean View Center 6-8 Ryan Westendorf St. Margaret’s Center 6-7 Tes Whitlock Loara Guard 6-1 Chauncey Woolridge Santa Ana Forward 6-5

Name College Mustapha Abdi Unsigned Josh Borella Unsigned Thomas Clayton Unsigned Mike Fenton Cal Lutheran Chris Hacker-x Cal Poly Pomona Ryan Martin Cal State Northridge John Molle-x San Diego State Cherokee Parks-x Duke Ryan Rauch Yale or Columbia Marcel TenBerge-x Colorado State Ryan Westendorf Unsigned Tes Whitlock Unsigned Chauncey Woolridge Unsigned

GIRLS

Player School Position Hgt. College Leslie Ferguson La Habra Forward 6-0 Unsigned Heather Flaherty Corona del Mar Forward 6-0 Unsigned Deanna Harry Woodbridge Forward 6-2 Unsigned Ana Kristich La Habra Forward 6-2 Unsigned Tracy Titus Loara Forward 6-2 Unsigned Jinelle Williams-x Brea-Olinda Forward 5-9 UC Irvine

x-Signed during early period in October.