Basketball Star Makes Move : Prep sports: Freshman Cotton transfers from St. John Bosco to Mater Dei.

He is a high school freshman, but Schea Cotton already is the recruiting target of dozens of college basketball coaches.

Cotton, 15, has shown so much talent on the court that he can further showcase his abilities by choosing the all-star traveling team and summer tournament schedule of his choice.

Last September, he was the only freshman invited to the Nike Career Developmental Weekend, featuring 37 of the country’s best prospects at the company’s headquarters in Beaverton, Ore.

So, when Cotton transferred from Bellflower St. John Bosco High last week to Santa Ana Mater Dei, which has one of the Southland’s best basketball programs, some could not help but question why.

Cotton’s move is the latest in what has become a trend among some of area’s best athletes. They seemingly are switching schools simply to improve their chances of obtaining a Division I college scholarship.

After attending Dana Junior High in San Pedro for two years, Cotton followed in the footsteps of his older brother, James, and enrolled at St. John Bosco last summer. James, a 6-foot-5 forward who played basketball for the Braves from 1991-93, is a reserve at Long Beach State this season.

Schea, 6-5 and 215 pounds, played in about 15 games with St. John Bosco last summer. He began practicing with the team in late November and started at forward in three of the Braves’ first four games, averaging 14.5 points. He missed one start for disciplinary reasons.

Cotton has not yet been declared eligible for athletic competition at Mater Dei, which has won seven Southern Section championships in the last 11 years. According to CIF Southern Section rules, his family must move into a new school district and establish residency before he can join the basketball team at the parochial school.

James Sr. and Gaynell Cotton, Schea’s parents, said they looked through the newspaper last week for rental listings in Orange County, and hope to settle in Huntington Beach or Los Alamitos by Christmas.

“I know Schea is considered one of the premier players in the country,” said Dean Crowley, Southern Section commissioner. “So, I guarantee he will not be cleared to play until he changes addresses, and families do not move in one day. We’ll check the new residency and the old one to make sure everything is legitimate. Otherwise, he won’t play.”

Last Monday, the Cottons told Brian Breslin, St. John Bosco’s coach, Schea would attend Mater Dei, even though they had never visited the Santa Ana school, and had not yet applied for admission.

Lyle Porter, Mater Dei’s principal, said he met with the Cottons on Monday afternoon. Porter explained the admission requirements--a minimum 2.0 grade-point average and no history of disciplinary problems--and discussed financial-aid opportunities. The tuition is $3,900 a year, plus a $200 registration fee.

The application for Cotton was approved Tuesday. Porter said it is not unusual for transfer students to be accepted quickly.

“(Schea) was accepted based on his merits, not athletic ability,” Porter said. “When the family moves, we’ll check it out and then rule on his eligibility. If the move is not legitimate, then I will personally stop his ability to play here.”

This is the third move for the Cottons in the last four years. They moved from San Pedro to Lakewood in the summer of 1990. James attended Artesia High as a sophomore and played on a team with Charles O’Bannon and Avondre Jones. That team won a Southern Section championship, and O’Bannon is now at UCLA and Jones at USC.

The Cottons returned to San Pedro the next summer and James enrolled at St. John Bosco.

“It’s just time to move again, that’s all,” Gaynell said last week. “We want to be closer to our son (James) at college, and Schea decided he didn’t want to go to St. John Bosco any longer. Bosco is a good school and there was no problem between it and our family.”

Gaynell said Schea was interested in three schools, and she chose Mater Dei because it was the only private one. She declined to name the other two. She also said she was unaware of Mater Dei’s tradition in basketball and was unfamiliar with Gary McKnight, its coach.

“I’m not really sure of their success,” she said. “I guess I’m told they have a good program.”

Breslin said although he had heard rumors in recent months about Cotton leaving, the news was a surprise. He said Cotton seemed uncomfortable with himself and with his teammates, “but nothing that is unusual for a freshman.”

Breslin added that Cotton chose Mater Dei because he has friends on the team.

Several of Mater Dei’s players, including guard Kevin Augustine and forward Alec Foster, played with Cotton during the summer on the Performance Training Institute team of Anaheim. PTI is coached by Pat Barrett, a former Mater Dei assistant who is close with several of the school’s coaches, including assistant Tom Lewis. Lewis, who attended Mater Dei from 1982-85, was an assistant at St. John Bosco two years ago.

Cotton’s parents said they were not influenced by anyone to enroll their son at Mater Dei. Schea declined comment.

“If that had been the case, Schea would have started the school year there instead of St. John Bosco,” Gaynell said.

McKnight said he was as surprised as anyone about Cotton’s transfer, but added that he was excited at the prospect of coaching him.

“Who wouldn’t be happy to have a kid like that on their team?” McKnight said. “I see him stepping in immediately and making a contribution.”

Breslin said losing Cotton has been difficult for his team. In Bosco’s second game without him, the Braves were upset by Los Alamitos in the quarterfinals of the Tournament of Champions at Ocean View High on Wednesday night.