Williams Puts Kansas on Local Map

Late last Friday morning, Kentucky basketball Coach Rick Pitino called Inglewood High School Coach Patrick Roy to inform him that he would like to begin recruiting Roy’s star player, 6-7 swingman Paul Pierce.

Obviously, Pitino hadn’t done his homework. If he had, he would have known that only the day before, Pierce, widely regarded by coaches and talent evaluators as the top high school prospect in the West, had called a press conference for noon Friday in the Inglewood High gymnasium to announce his college choice.

One head coach who had done his homework by then, however, was Roy Williams of Kansas.

Early last summer, Williams made Pierce one of his top priorities. Williams did much of the recruiting of Pierce himself, making a significant impression in the process. That impression was solidified when Pierce took his recruiting visit to Kansas over Thanksgiving weekend.

Two days after Christmas, Williams flew to Southern California to watch Pierce play in a holiday tournament.

Thus, it hardly came as a surprise to those closest to Pierce when the 17-year-old senior told the assembled group of students, administrators and reporters Friday that he would sign a letter of intent with Kansas when the spring signing period begins April 12.

There had been much speculation among basketball insiders about Pierce’s choice when word began to spread Thursday that he had reached a decision. The South Bay Daily Breeze, which covers some of Inglewood’s games, reported Friday that Pierce was expected to choose UCLA.

He had taken an official recruiting trip to Westwood two weeks earlier, and had one scheduled to California this weekend. Another to Arizona was in the planning stages.

But Pierce admitted that for the past few months, he had seriously considered only two schools: Kansas and UCLA.

Though he had some concerns about leaving home for the Midwest, Pierce said those concerns were alleviated on his recruiting visit to Kansas. Credit another assist to Jayhawk point guard Jacque Vaughn, a sophomore from Pasadena Muir who, like Pierce, comes from a single-parent family and is close to his mother.

“I really like the way Coach Williams runs his program,” Pierce said. “I think I’ll fit in well there. Jacque told me that if I came, Coach Williams would look after me. And he supports all of his players, not just the ones who play a lot.”

Pierce’s decision only enhances Williams’ reputation as a master recruiter, with a major presence on the West Coast. Few, if any, coaches make better impressions on the all-important home visits than Williams, a Southerner and Dean Smith disciple who exudes warmth, honesty and sincerity.

For two of the past three years, Williams has successfully recruited, arguably, the top prospect in California: first Vaughn, who shared the unofficial title with Lakewood Artesia’s Charles O’Bannon (UCLA) in 1992-93, and now Pierce.

Last year, he finished runner-up to Duke for the best player in the state, guard Ricky Price of Gardena Serra. Price said later he had a better rapport with Williams than any other college coach and had planned to sign with Kansas, but couldn’t pass up the opportunity to play for Duke when Mike Krzyzewski finally called.

And in the fall of 1991, Williams was the only coach to get an official home visit with heralded recruit Jason Kidd of Alameda. Kidd, now a rookie star with the NBA’s Dallas Mavericks, ultimately decided to stay close to home and signed with Cal, thanks mostly to the efforts of another super-recruiter, a then-obscure young assistant coach named Todd Bozeman.

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Notes

Wednesday is the first day high school football players can sign college letters of intent. A recruiting “dead period,” i.e., no in-person contact between college coaches and recruits, began this morning and continues until Friday.

UCLA’s recruiting class received a big boost over the weekend when Ramogi Huma (6-2, 205) of La Puente Bishop Amat, one of the top linebacker prospects on the West Coast, gave the Bruins an oral commitment. Huma, a 3.8 student, chose UCLA over Washington, after also considering Arizona, Stanford and Colorado.

The Bruins also got commitments from two weekend visitors: defensive lineman Langston Woodberry (6-2, 300) of Van Nuys Montclair Prep and long snapper/tight end Jason Bendinelli (6-3, 220) of Ventura College. Woodberry, who runs well for his size, was a standout at the UCLA football camp last summer. Bendinelli, from Buena High, played as a freshman at Ventura last season and will transfer to UCLA with three years of eligibility left. Other commitments earlier last week came from safety Chris McAlister (6-1, 180) of Pasadena High, placekicker-punter Chris Sailer (5-10, 180) of Sherman Oaks Notre Dame and defensive end Travor Turner (6-5, 205) of Westchester High. Sailer, who will also play soccer, kicked seven field goals from 50 yards or farther last season and averaged 44 yards per punt. He chose UCLA over Cal and Stanford.

Add UCLA: The Bruins now have commitments from 21 players, and could end up signing as many as 24. They picked up an extra scholarship when junior outside linebacker Anthony Jones, who transferred from Notre Dame last year, decided to give up football because of a shoulder injury.

Most of the top prospects in Southern California have made oral commitments. Several key players, however, remain unsigned, including All-American running back/defensive back Daylon McCutcheon (5-11, 175) of Bishop Amat, All-American running back Sirr Parker (5-10, 185) of Los Angeles Locke, wide receiver Billy Miller (6-4, 210) of Westlake Village Westlake and linebacker Aaron Williams (6-3, 240) of Hawthorne Leuzinger.

McCutcheon, a spectacular athlete who rushed for 2,359 yards (8.7 yards per carry) and scored 33 touchdowns last season but might end up playing cornerback in college, is trying to decide from among USC, Washington, Colorado and Michigan. The Trojans and Huskies are the favorites. Parker, who rushed for 1,129 yards and scored 19 touchdowns for a team that finished 0-9, is one of the fastest backs in the country, with speed in the 4.3-4.4 range over 40 yards. He has narrowed his choices to Washington, Texas A&M;, Notre Dame and UCLA, eliminating Arizona. Notre Dame Coach Lou Holtz and UCLA Coach Terry Donahue each met with Parker last week at Locke.

Add Notre Dame: The Irish, on the verge of signing the top recruiting class in the country, received a commitment last week from Bishop Amat defensive end Kory Minor (6-3, 240). Minor, USA Today’s defensive player of the year, chose Notre Dame over USC.

Miller visited Colorado last weekend, but is expected to sign with USC or UCLA. Williams, an impressive physical specimen, took a trip to UCLA last weekend, and Donahue was in his home Sunday night. He will also likely choose UCLA or USC. His only other recruiting trip was to Notre Dame.

USC, with 15 scholarships to give, has received commitments from 11 players. Trojan Coach John Robinson got some good news last week when highly regarded quarterback Quincy Woods (6-1, 180) of Park Forest, Ill., chose USC over Oklahoma, Michigan and Colorado. Woods, who passed for 2,249 yards and 22 touchdowns last season and is also a dangerous running threat, joins John Fox (6-3, 185) of Corona Centennial to give the Trojans two top quarterback prospects. USC also got commitments from linebacker/fullback Marvin Powell III of Van Nuys Birmingham and quarterback/”athlete” Mike Bastianelli (6-0, 180) of Concord De La Salle. Bastianelli, who committed to Oklahoma before changing his mind, was recruited as a wide receiver. In addition, linebacker Mark Cusano (6-3, 220) of The Colony, Tex., reaffirmed his commitment to USC shortly after taking an official trip to UCLA, and Ventura High wide receiver Ramsey Jay (6-2, 175), a top 400-meter runner, will receive a track scholarship to USC.

Next to commit to the Trojans could be defensive lineman Phil Fonua (6-2, 275) of Manhattan Beach Mira Costa, who visited over the weekend. Fonua, a preseason All-American, suffered a brain aneurysm while lifting weights during the summer and didn’t play last season. He is hoping to be cleared by doctors to play college football.

Add USC: The Trojans are still in the hunt for community college All-American linebacker Vernon Crawford (6-3, 245) of City College of San Francisco, who visited Florida State last weekend.

Stanford now has 25 commitments. Most recent to announce for Stanford include Mater Dei placekicker Patrick Shinnefield (6-2, 180); defensive linemen Andrew Curry (6-4, 240) of Tulare and Konti Pellegrin (6-2, 230) of Punahou, Hawaii; wide receivers Frank Primus (5-11, 170) of Houston, Troy Walters (5-7, 155) of College Station, Tex., and Jauron Pigg (6-0, 165) of Kokomo, Ind., and linebackers Adam Cable (6-2, 210) of Jackson, Miss., and Max Stevenson (6-0, 225) of Columbus, Ohio.

Cal, which was unable to sign its top quarterback prospect, Tom Brady (6-4, 200) of San Mateo Serra, and couldn’t get a visit from Dan Loyd (6-3, 190) of San Marino, has received a commitment from quarterback Mike Murphy (6-5, 210) of Aptos. Loyd chose Arizona over San Jose State.