Jessie’s First Love Is Still Basketball : Edison: Senior standout who averaged 21 points last season regrets skipping football, but says his future is on the court.

Brandon Jessie, Edison High School’s multi-talented basketball player, hears the same question every day. It seems everywhere he goes, people want to know, “Why don’t you play football?”

Friends, opposing players and even some college basketball coaches are wondering why Jessie plays his game in sneakers instead of cleats.

Many marveled at Jessie’s athletic skills last season when he joined Edison’s football team at midseason and caught seven touchdown passes in five games.

Last September, Super Prep magazine listed Jessie among the top 100 football prospects in the nation and called him “Southern California’s finest prep athlete.”

But Jessie decided to skip football his senior year and instead concentrate on basketball. Later, he regretted the decision and asked football Coach Dave White if he could rejoin the team. White rejected him after the team voted against letting him play.

Now, starting the third week of the prep basketball season, Jessie says he still regrets his decision to skip football as he ponders his future in college sports.

“I missed it (football) more than I thought I would,” Jessie said. “It’s a great sport and I love it. I know I still have a lot to learn, but I do plan on playing football in college.”

But only after he begins his collegiate career as a basketball player. Jessie says he’s narrowed his college choices to UCLA, USC, Colorado, Miami and Notre Dame. He opted to wait until the spring signing period so he could consider all of his options and ensure that he passed two mathematics courses.

Jessie is currently enrolled in a geometry class at an adult education school near the Ocean View High School campus. He is working with a tutor to help him pass an algebra course at Edison. If he doesn’t qualify for a four-year college, he probably will enroll at a community college.

“A junior college is a possibility if things don’t work out,” Jessie said. “I had a long talk with my dad (former NFL Pro Bowl selection Ron Jessie) and he told me that I can always play football in college.

“I think my parents would like to see me get good grades and grow up a little. If I went to a (junior college), I would definitely play both sports.”

Jessie hasn’t taken the Scholastic Aptitude Test required for college entrance but he scored an eye-popping 28 on the American College Test. Jessie’s high score was questioned by some and he retook the test Saturday.

Jessie’s numbers on the basketball court are even more impressive. He averaged 21.4 points and 13 rebounds as a junior and worked this summer on his three-point shot and ballhandling skills in anticipation of moving from forward to small guard on the next level.

“I felt better going into this basketball season since I didn’t play football,” he said. “Last year, it took most of the preseason to get my basketball legs.”

Jessie’s opening game was disappointing as Edison lost, 53-50, to Trabuco Hills. Jessie scored only 10 points after getting into early foul trouble and missed nearly half the game.

“I thought I played a good defensive game, but people will say it was a bad game because I didn’t score a lot of points,” he said. “People expect me to score a lot of points, and that’s OK, because I put a lot of pressure on myself.

“I think we’re going to have a good team (Edison is 2-2) by the time league starts. We’ve got some guys who played football and some others who have never played varsity. Once we learn to play together, we’re going to be good.”

The Sunset League teams can be grouped into three categories. After two weeks of the season, the contenders are Edison, Huntington Beach and Ocean View. Huntington Beach and Edison were tri-champions with Marina last season.

Marina, which lost plenty when All-American center Cherokee Parks graduated to Duke, is the dark horse. Santa Ana, Fountain Valley and Westminster lack the size and talent to compete with the top four teams.