THE PREPS / ERIC SHEPARD : Rating the Recruiting Classes Really Only a Guessing Game

The phone seldom stopped ringing last week because college football fans were eager to know how their favorite teams fared in recruiting.

The national signing period began Wednesday, with most of the nation’s top players signing letters of intent. A few players, such as Daylon McCutcheon of La Puente Bishop Amat, delayed their decisions.

For the most part, however, coaches knew by Wednesday afternoon which players they will welcome next fall. Many players made their intentions known weeks earlier, further diluting what used to be a day of surprises.

Recruiting experts filled the radio waves, offering analysis of which teams received the top players and which did not. Many of those so-called experts offered their own top 10s, with Notre Dame and other traditional powers finishing at the top.

There was a consensus among the experts that USC did best among Pacific 10 Conference schools and that UCLA finished second or third.

But as most coaches know, the opinions mean little. Comparing USC’s recruiting class to Penn State’s is hardly possible. It is difficult to determine if a high school quarterback from Pittsburgh is better than one from the Southland.

Publishers of recruiting magazines or newsletters are often unqualified in analyzing talent and biased toward their own geographic areas.

It is also difficult to analyze a class because so many factors come into play after a high school senior has signed a letter of intent. Many have academic troubles and never get beyond the practice field. Some become disillusioned at their lack of playing time and transfer. Others suffer career-ending injuries early. In a class of 20 players, it is not uncommon for half not to make it all the way through.

Some recruits never reach their potential. Others flourish in stable programs with quality coaching.

An understanding of these factors helps explain why it is fruitless to rate recruiting classes and why we tell callers we have no idea who finished at the top.

McCutcheon, a running back/defensive back, signed with USC on Saturday. The Trojans also received late letters of intent from linebacker Aaron Williams of Lawndale Leuzinger and the Bay Area’s most valuable player, defensive back Mike Bastianelli of Concord De La Salle.

UCLA also received a late signing in running back/defensive back Ali Azziz of Santa Maria St. Joseph. Many schools stopped recruiting Azziz when he tore a ligament in his right knee late last season.

The City Section will announce its basketball playoff brackets Saturday morning, but Commissioner Barbara Fiege is still searching for a site for the March 3 finals.

The section usually holds its finals at the Sports Arena, but Fiege said she cannot afford the $43,000 price tag for an evening of four games. She is hoping to confirm Pauley Pavilion today.

“I think we’ll be able to get into Pauley for under $10,000,” she said. “The Sports Arena is just too expensive, and they didn’t want to negotiate. It was a take-it-or-leave-it proposal, and we’ve lost $25,000 there the last two years.”

The Southern Section will release its boys’ basketball playoff brackets Sunday and the girls Monday. Most of the girls’ games will move from Cal Poly Pomona to the new Pyramid at Long Beach State.

The boys’ basketball team at tiny Pacific Hills in Los Angeles is the two-time defending Southern Section Division V-A champions, but the Bruins continue to have a difficult time finding a home court.

The private school (enrollment: 90) does not have a gymnasium, so the team practices at a local recreation center. It played its home games at nearby Murphy High last season, but its gym was unavailable this season.

“Because of the earthquakes, fires and everything else, there is a real shortage of gyms in Los Angeles,” Coach John Bobich said. “We’ve had a four-member committee looking all over this town for a place to play, but it has not been easy.”

Bobich finally turned to longtime friend Frank Califano, the boys’ basketball coach at West Torrance. Pacific Hills has played most of its home games at the South Bay school, 25 miles away from its campus.

“Our fans are loyal, but they don’t always know where to go to find us,” Bobich said.

Prep Notes

The Belmont girls’ soccer team forfeited a game last week after Coach Neil La Sala pulled it off the field in protest of a lopsided score against Van Nuys Grant. La Sala, in his first season, felt Grant was running up the score when it took a 5-0 lead 15 minutes into the game. La Sala was reprimanded by school administrators and Commissioner Barbara Fiege. . . . Many of the Southland’s top football players will race in a 50-meter dash at the Sunkist Invitational Saturday night at the Sports Arena. The field includes Daylon McCutcheon, Chris McAlister, Sirr Parker of Locke, Dahrin Footman of Anaheim Esperanza and Marvin Powell Jr. of Van Nuys Birmingham.

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

Times’ Basketball Polls

The Times’ top 20 high school basketball polls, with teams from the City and Southern Sections.

BOYS

School Sect. Div. Rec. LW 1. Mater Dei SS I-A 26-1 1 2. Dominguez SS II-A 22-2 2 3. Inglewood SS II-A 21-3 3 4. Tustin SS II-A 22-1 4 5. Cres. Valley SS II-AA 22-1 5 6. Westchester City 4-A 21-6 8 7. Fairfax City 4-A 18-5 7 8. JW North SS II-AA 18-3 9 9. Crenshaw City 4-A 19-4 6 10. Artesia SS III-AA 20-3 10 11. Fremont City 4-A 23-3 11 12. Harvard-Westlake SS III-A 22-2 12 13. Nogales SS I-A 21-3 13 14. Santa Margarita SS II-A 22-1 15 15. Glendora SS I-A 21-3 19 16. Sonora SS III-AA 21-3 16 17. Simi Valley SS I-AA 18-4 17 18. Washington City 4-A 18-5 NR 19. Lynwood SS I-AA 16-8 NR 20. Pasadena SS II-AA 18-6 20

GIRLS

School Sect. Div. Rec. LW 1. Woodbridge SS II-AA 23-1 1 2. Newbury Park SS III-AA 22-1 2 3. Buena SS I-A 17-2 3 4. Mater Dei SS I-A 19-1 4 5. Brea-Olinda SS II-A 22-2 5 6. Crenshaw City 4-A 21-0 7 7. JW North SS II-AA 21-1 8 8. Peninsula SS I-AA 19-4 9 9. Alemany SS II-AA 17-4 6 10. Diamond Bar SS I-AA 21-2 11 11. Fountain Valley SS I-A 19-5 12 12. B. Montgomery SS III-AA 18-4 13 13. Lynwood SS I-AA 16-5 15 14. LB Poly SS I-AA 19-4 10 15. Muir SS II-A 19-2 17 16. Chino SS I-A 19-4 NR 17. Edison SS II-A 17-5 16 18. Simi Valley SS I-AA 20-4 20 19. San Bernardino SS II-A 20-3 NR 20. Perris SS I-A 18-3 NR