Bogison Goes AWOL for Shot at West Point

Some people might say Brian Bogison could have waited to make such sacrifices. They might have advised him to stick around and have some fun.

But Bogison, 17, has a schedule to keep. Remaining for another semester at Oak Park High would not have been the best move in the interest of time management, a skill that will come in handy down the road.

Bogison, a 6-foot-4, 200-pound backup center, left the Oak Park basketball team in the midst of a 22-2 season--best in school history--to graduate early.

He now takes 17 units at Pierce College in hopes of receiving an appointment to West Point by the fall of 1995.

“My ultimate goal is to be an officer in the United States Army,” Bogison said.

Time to get cracking. Bogison enrolled at Pierce early, in part, because his 3.3 grade-point average at Oak Park was “substandard.” One must carry a 3.5 to be considered for appointment.

So Bogison decided to start fresh.

“The decision tormented him, but he’s real motivated to do this,” said Oak Park Coach Rob Hall, 30, who served two years in the Army. “We miss having him, but he made a real mature decision about his future.”

Bogison was a first-year player whom Hall had hand-picked out of a physical education class. Bogison proved to be a key defensive player and one of the team’s best outside shooters--yet inexperience limited him to about six minutes per game. He averaged three points and two rebounds.

But instead of performing in front of his classmates in a packed gym, Bogison has moved to his grandparents’ home in Canoga Park, where he spends nights studying physics, geography, political science, history and anthropology in pursuit of a 3.5.

“We knew he was up to something, because he was always off doing his own thing,” teammate Nick Rattray said. “We all assumed it was for a good reason.

“We miss him a little. He was a likable character and he hit three pointers like they were nothing.”

Bogison never announced his decision to his teammates because he initially planned to do continue playing. He spent the first week of the spring semester taking classes at Pierce, taking elective classes at Oak Park and squeezing in basketball practice. But he didn’t make it through the week.

“I tried to fulfill my obligations, but I couldn’t balance the two,” he said. “I didn’t want to make anybody angry. I didn’t want to let the team down.”