College Football Creeping Into His Dreams of Basketball Career

Like many kids growing up in Southern California, Rome Douglas has dreamed of playing big-time college basketball. Unlike most of those kids, however, Douglas’ visions never included dunking beneath the national championship banners at Pauley Pavilion or running up and down the same Sports Arena floor that Harold Miner did.

Instead, Douglas, a 6-foot 7-inch, 250-pound football and basketball standout at Claremont High, saw himself continuing the family tradition at Memphis State, where his idol and father, James Douglas, played as a 6-5 guard from 1968-71.

On the road to Tennessee, however, Douglas stepped on a football field and things haven’t been the same since. Now his dreams have another dimension.

Although Douglas, who played football as a junior at La Canada St. Francis, caught only seven passes last season, college football coaches from across the country are convinced that he can be an outstanding tight end or defensive end. He has already visited Colorado and Washington State and will be at Arizona this weekend. Douglas will visit USC on Jan. 14-16. He is also considering visits to UCLA, Nebraska, Texas and Kansas.

Douglas would prefer to play tight end in college and power forward when basketball season starts.

“I love basketball,” acknowledges Douglas, whose parents, James and Earlie, named him Rome because they were married in the Italian capital. “I would feel bad if I didn’t at least have the opportunity to play at the collegiate level.”

After a 28-point, 13-rebound performance in a victory over Downey Pius X this week, Douglas was averaging more than 20 points a game. Schools recruiting him for basketball include San Diego State, Alabama Birmingham and Texas Christian.

Douglas has been assured by the schools recruiting him for football that he will have an opportunity to play basketball.

“Rome has great speed, agility and soft hands,” said Tom Lemming of the Schaumburg, Ill.-based Prep Football Report. “He has the potential to be a super tight end in college.”

Douglas attended all of USC’s home football games last season, and most of UCLA’s.

“I don’t think I want to go far from home,” he says.

Douglas is part of a talented group of tight ends in Southern California. Other top college prospects include Tony Gonzalez (6-6, 230) of Huntington Beach, who has given an unwritten commitment to California to play football and basketball, Michael Jackson (6-3, 230) of Santa Monica, Dorrick Roy (6-4, 225) of Van Nuys Montclair Prep and John Johnson (6-4, 220) of Jefferson High.

Notes

USC, looking for immediate help at several positions, has been active in recruiting community college players. So far the Trojans have signed two, both of whom will participate in spring practice: All-American wide receiver-kick returner Keyshawn Johnson (6-foot-3, 200 pounds) of Dorsey High and West Los Angeles College, and linebacker Errick Herrin (6-3, 230) of Mt. San Jacinto. Herrin is a former Marine who played high school football in Ohio. Others who may sign include All-American running back Leonard Green (6-foot, 180) of Mt. San Antonio in Walnut, defensive end Marcus Bonds (6-6, 235) of West L.A., cornerback Mario Bradley (6-2, 180) of Cerritos, fullback Reggie Brown (6-1, 235) of College of the Desert in Palm Desert, offensive linemen Richard Beatie (6-6, 290) of Glendale and Heath Baughman (6-7, 290) of Bakersfield. Green, from Silver Spring, Md., rushed for 1,310 yards and 25 touchdowns and caught 56 passes for 1,013 yards and six touchdowns last season. He also led the nation in scoring with 186 points. “Leonard’s dream school is USC; he has always talked about being the Trojan tailback,” says Mt. San Antonio offensive coordinator Tom Maher. Green visits Maryland this weekend and is also considering USC, Arkansas, San Diego State, Utah and Texas Tech. Community college players began signing letters of intent Dec. 8; for high school players, the signing date is Feb. 2. . . . Add West L.A.: Outside linebacker Renaldo (Skeets) Spalding (6-3, 220) signed with Iowa after visiting the campus last weekend.

UCLA has received an unwritten commitment from the quarterback it wanted, Steve Buck (6-4, 180) of Alta Loma. Buck completed 101 of 188 passes (53%) for 1,408 yards and nine touchdowns. He had five passes intercepted. The Bruins also have a commitment from quarterback-defensive back Glenn Thompkins (5-9, 165) of Rialto Eisenhower. Thompkins led Eisenhower to the Southern Section Division I championship. Another Eisenhower player who may sign with the Bruins is Rick Austin (6-4, 300), one of the top linemen in Southern California. UCLA is also considered the front-runner to sign running back-safety Carlos Meeks (5-10, 190) of Playa del Rey St. Bernard, who is also considering Arizona and Colorado State, and two players from Northern California, safety DuVal Hicks (6-2, 190) of Benicia and tight end-linebacker Mike Grieb (6-4, 220) of San Jose Oak Grove. Hicks has visited UCLA and Arizona State and has trips planned to Cal, Stanford and Washington State. Grieb was in Westwood last weekend along with standout running back Mark Levine (5-11, 175) of Dallas. Levine is also considering Tennessee and Georgia. The Bruins are competing with Notre Dame and Rose Bowl opponent Wisconsin for safety-running back Clement Stokes (6-1, 195) of Washington, D.C. Stokes’ brother, Sims, is a freshman defensive back at Notre Dame.

Stanford, which had one of the top recruiting classes in the country last year, has received commitments from at least four players: linebacker Kailee Wong (6-3, 220) of Eugene, Ore., tackle Andrew Kroeker (6-5, 270) of Fayetteville, Ark., and linebackers Matt Smith (6-2, 220) of Grants Pass, Ore., and Jon Haskins (6-2, 225) of Sarasota, Fla. In addition, tackle Tony Coats (6-6, 275) of Port Orchard, Wash., one of the top offensive line prospects in the country, visited Stanford last weekend and may be close to committing to the Cardinal. He also has visits scheduled to Notre Dame and Washington. Stanford is one of four schools that kicker Adam Abrams (5-9, 170) of The Bishop’s School in La Jolla is considering, along with Cal, USC and Colorado. Abrams is the brother of Stanford sophomore kicker Eric Abrams.

Cal has received commitments from fullback Rudy Mattox (6-1, 210) of Pinole Valley, Calif., and free safety David Burnside (6-2, 175) of Milpitas, Calif. Burnside is scheduled to undergo arthroscopic surgery on his right knee next week. . . Add Pac-10: Hawthorne wide receiver-defensive back Justin Stallings (6-1, 200) has committed to Washington State.

Nationally, Notre Dame’s recruiting is off to a good start. The Irish have received commitments from San Fernando High quarterback-defensive back Leon Blunt (5-10, 180) and linebackers Kurt Belisle (6-3, 225) of Kankakee, Ill., Jeff Kramer (6-3, 215) of Weatherford, Tex., and Tim Laws (6-5, 210) of Battle Creek, Mich. Blunt, who grew up a USC fan and attends the same school that produced former Trojan Heisman Trophy winner and current assistant Charles White, surprised some observers by committing to the Irish during his recent visit.

Hoop report: Jelani Gardner, the 6-6 All-American point guard from Bellflower St. John Bosco, said this week that his top college choices were UCLA and Arkansas. However, he has a trip planned to Syracuse in February and is considering Arizona State, Cal, Michigan and Minnesota. Michigan, which recently hired assistant Scott Perry away from Cal, is now recruiting Gardner as an “insurance policy” in case junior guard Jalen Rose decides to declare himself available for the NBA draft after this season. . . . UCLA is also expected to be one of the schools with a chance to sign 6-9 forward Makhtar Ndiaye, a native of Senegal, if he is released from his scholarship at Wake Forest. The NCAA would release Ndiaye, who attended Oak Hill Academy in Mouth of Wilson, Va., and is now a freshman, from his scholarship because of alleged violations committed by Wake Forest during his recruitment. He would be eligible immediately at another school.

Add hoops: Felipe Lopez, a 6-5 guard from New York City who is ranked among the top five players in the country, visited UCLA Dec. 3-5. According to a UCLA insider, Lopez, who was accompanied to Westwood by his mother and attended the UCLA-Nevada Las Vegas game that weekend, “had a great visit,” but will probably sign with St. John’s, Seton Hall or Syracuse. He is also considering Florida State.

In the first game of his season Lopez helped Rice High to a 102-58 victory over Washington Heights by scoring 48 points (20 of 28 from the field, three of five from three-point range), grabbing 18 rebounds and handing out four assists, despite sitting out the first four minutes of the game for disciplinary reasons.