RECRUITING / JEFF FELLENZER : Bruins Get a Jump on Competition With Commitment From Bailey

Only three weeks into the college basketball recruiting season and already UCLA Coach Jim Harrick is a happy man.

For Harrick and his staff, good news arrived July 1--the first day that college basketball coaches could begin talking incoming seniors--when 6-foot-5 swingman Toby Bailey of Loyola High made an unwritten commitment to UCLA.

Bailey averaged about 25 points and 14 rebounds as a junior. He has improved his perimeter skills this summer and was selected one of the top 20 players at the prestigious Nike camp in Indianapolis this month.

Bailey, who has a 3.0 grade-point average, has already passed the Scholastic Aptitude Test and will be eligible as a freshman.

“I’ve always wanted to go to UCLA, and I think everyone knew that,” said Bailey, whose father, John, graduated from UCLA in 1972.

“I’m looking forward to playing with Charles and Ed (O’Bannon). Also, by committing early, it may help convince other players in my class to commit to UCLA, too.”

As recently as early April, Harrick and his staff had not signed any players for the 1993-94 season. Then the Bruins signed 6-1 point guard Cameron Dollar of Frederick, Md., adding depth to the backcourt, and were able to beat out Kentucky for the services of Charles O’Bannon, Lakewood Artesia’s 6-6 All-American forward and brother of UCLA forward Ed O’Bannon.

UCLA, with five scholarships to give for the 1994-95 season, is hoping to put together its most talented recruiting class in years. Now that Bailey has committed, the Bruins are recruiting a group that includes 6-6 guard Rick Price, who recently announced his transfer from Long Beach St. Anthony to Gardena Serra; 6-5 point guard Jelani Gardner of Bellflower St. John Bosco; 6-4 guard Trajan Langdon of Anchorage, Alaska; 6-11 center Omm’A Givens of Aberdeen, Wash.; 6-9 forward J.R. Henderson of Bakersfield; 6-9 forward Jerod Ward of Clinton, Miss.; 6-5 guard Felipe Lopez of New York; 6-4 guard Miles Simon of Santa Ana Mater Dei; 6-8 forward Mark Madsen of Danville, Calif., and 6-5 forward Kris Johnson of Crenshaw High.

Madsen and Johnson, who is the son of former UCLA All-American and current Bruin radio broadcaster Marques Johnson, impressed college coaches and scouts with their play during last week’s Slam-N-Jam National Invitational tournament at Cal State Long Beach.

The Bruins are considered front-runners for Givens, the top center prospect on the West Coast; Henderson, who has terrific all-around skills but whose intensity level has been questioned at times, and Gardner, a gifted point guard with a scorer’s mentality. All three are being recruited nationally, with Kentucky considered a strong contender for Gardner. If even two of the three eventually sign with UCLA, the Bruins will probably have the makings of a class comparable to any in the country.

Actually, UCLA’s recruiting for the 1993-94 season may not be finished. If the NCAA rules that the Wake Forest letter of intent signed by 6-9 forward Makhtar Ndiaye of Oak Hill Academy in Mouth of Wilson, Va., is invalid due to recruiting violations, UCLA will likely be one of the schools that Ndiaye, a native of Senegal, Africa, will visit.

A decision by the NCAA on Ndiaye’s status should come any day.

Notes

USC’s next basketball recruiting class will be guard-oriented. Now that Stais Boseman, Jaha Wilson and Claude Green have passed their college entrance examinations, Trojan Coach George Raveling and his staff would like to sign three players for the 1994-95 season. Word has it that Jason Pickett, a 6-1 guard from Wilmington Banning, will be the first to give Raveling an unwritten commitment. Pickett scored 40 points against Dorsey in a summer tournament game recently. His speed and style are reminiscent of former UCLA guard Rod Foster.

More hoops: Stanford’s recruiting got a much-needed boost when 7-foot center Tim Young of Santa Cruz, the consensus choice as best big man in California, gave the Cardinal an unwritten commitment. Other early commitments: 6-8 forward Scott Padgett of Louisville to Kentucky, and 6-3 shooting guard Peter Lisicky of Whitehall, Pa., to Penn State. . . . Add Duke to the list of schools recruiting 6-6 guard Rick Price of Gardena Serra. Blue Devil Coach Mike Krzyzewski talked to Price on the phone for more than an hour one night last week. Price got word recently that he had passed the SAT with a score of 850. Kansas and Cal are Price’s top choices right now, with Duke and Arizona also likely to get official recruiting visits. . . . Mike Carson, a 6-10 center from Chino Don Lugo who is considered the top center prospect in Southern California, is being heavily recruited by Loyola Marymount, Arizona State, Utah and Brigham Young, among others. . . . Omm’A Givens, the 6-11 center from Aberdeen, Wash., says he’ll take recruiting trips to UCLA, Kentucky, Michigan and probably Seton Hall. If he decides on a fifth visit, it is expected to be Arizona, Indiana or Kansas. Givens, who has relatives in San Diego, describes himself as a “West Coast, laid-back type of guy.” He toured UCLA on his own in April when in he was in town for a basketball camp. Givens also praised Arizona Coach Lute Olson: “He has a great history of sending big men to the NBA.” If the Wildcats are able to sign Givens, he could help offset the loss of 6-9 sophomore center Etdrick Bohannon, who is set to transfer to Tennessee.

California’s incoming football recruiting class, generally considered the best or second-best in the Pacific 10 Conference, was dealt a blow when wide receiver Latario Rachal (5-10, 170) failed to accumulate enough credits to earn an associate of arts degree from El Camino College in Torrance. Rachal, from Carson High, was being counted on as a possible replacement for All-American wide receiver Sean Dawkins, who left school a year early and was a first-round draft choice of the Indianapolis Colts. Rachal is expected to get his degree at El Camino after the fall semester and may still wind up at Cal. But he can again be recruited by other colleges. . . . Add academic casualties: Tyron Gunn (6-4, 230), a linebacker-defensive line prospect from Washington High who had hoped to attend UCLA, also was a non-qualifier after falling short of the minimum score required on his college entrance test. Reportedly, Gunn will attend Kansas and sit out his freshman season as part of the requirements of Proposition 48. . . . USC got some good news recently when former Pasadena High linebacker Treyvonne Towns (6-2, 200) was notified that he had passed the Scholastic Aptitude Test. He should be eligible to play for the Trojans next season.

Best prospect at UCLA’s recent weeklong football camp was Woodland Hills Taft wide receiver Andre DeSaussure (6-2, 180), one of the top high school sprinters in the country. DeSaussure won City Section titles last season in the 100 (wind-aided 10.58), 200 (wind-aided 20.93) and 400 meters (47.75), and finished second in the 400 (47.11) at the state meet.

All-star football update: Greg Ainsworth (6-0, 180), an option quarterback from Duarte High, sparked the West to a 27-14 victory over the East in the Hall of Fame game July 16 at Citrus College. Ainsworth rushed 12 times for 113 yards and two touchdowns, including a 72-yard scoring run, to earn most valuable player honors for his team. Poor grades kept Ainsworth from signing with a Division I-A college in February. He will attend Long Beach City College in the fall.

Ainsworth shared West quarterback duties with Muir’s Andy Colbert (5-8, 160), who signed with UCLA as a defensive back. Colbert displayed quick feet on several punt returns. He may end up as a wide receiver-kick returner at UCLA. A standout for the East was running back Lamont Adams (5-10, 170) of Nogales, who rushed 11 times for 73 yards, including a 33-yard touchdown run. Adams, who has excellent speed, said he thought about attending USC as a walk-on, but will enroll instead at Mt. San Antonio College.