Parker Now Has Answer to Questions on USC

Charlie Parker had tried to avoid the issue. But the question foremost in the minds of potential USC basketball recruits this season--would Parker be hired as the university’s permanent head coach?--was the one question he couldn’t answer. Until Friday, when Parker officially was handed the job.

“I always assumed that I was going to be hired as the head coach, so I tried to talk to the kids as if I had a long-term contract,” Parker said. “It rarely came up in the conversation.

“The problem was with the parents and (recruits’) coaches. Those are the ones I had to answer to about my job status. My main thing was to try to convince the coaches and other people that I was going to be on the job, and get the kids to hold off making any final decisions.”

One player Parker had hoped would wait a while before making a commitment--Inglewood High standout Paul Pierce--made his decision in late January instead, choosing Kansas over UCLA.

Now Parker and his staff, which will likely include former USC and American Basketball Assn. star Mack Calvin, have barely two weeks to recruit before the April 12-May 12 signing period begins.

The Trojans have two scholarships available, having already signed 6-2 guard Damion Dawson of Long Beach Poly last November. However, one of those scholarships will go to 6-8, 250-pound Maurice Strong of Memphis, Tenn., who signed a non-binding conference letter with USC in November, but decided not to sign a national letter of intent until Parker was offered the coaching job.

After averaging only 12 points as a junior, the powerful Strong helped lead Memphis East High to the large schools city championship this season. Along the way, coaches from Syracuse, St. John’s, DePaul, Colorado and hometown Memphis have been recruiting him. But Strong, as promised, reaffirmed his commitment to Parker last week, despite never having taken an official recruiting trip to USC.

With his one remaining scholarship, Parker would dearly love to sign 6-5 swingman Tommy Prince of Compton Dominguez. Prince has added USC to a list that also includes UCLA, Arizona State and Maryland. He will probably visit Arizona State or Maryland this weekend. UCLA is considered the heavy favorite to sign Prince, who might decide to commit to the Bruins without taking any official trips.

As many as three additional scholarships could become available to Parker soon, depending on the status of guards Burt Harris and Claude Green, and redshirt center Kirk Homenick. All three have discussed the possibility of transferring, and will meet with Parker this week.

The Trojans are the leaders for two community college players: 6-11 center Avondre Jones of Chaffey and 6-6 swingman Saipale Tuialii of Los Angeles City. Jones left USC last year after a disappointing freshman season, which included conflicts with former Coach George Raveling. He is also being pursued by Missouri, Iowa State, Louisville and Georgia, among others.

Tuialii, a former all-L.A. City player from South Gate High, comes from one of the top community college programs in California. He’s a good athlete and solid defender. Other schools recruiting Tuialii include Arizona State, New Mexico State and Hawaii.

Ideally, Parker would like to sign at least one more wing player. Besides Prince and Tuialii, the possibilities include 6-6 James Brown of Compton Dominguez, 6-8 Rico Harris of Temple City High and 6-5 Frank Brown of Beverly Hills High.

Brown, an excellent shooter whose stock rose with his play in the Southern Section and State playoffs, would very likely sign with USC if a scholarship was offered. He is also being recruited by Washington State, Portland and Wyoming. Harris said last week, before Parker was hired, that he was trying to decide between Arizona State (the leader) and UCLA.

“We’ll recruit the local kids as hard as possible,” said Parker, with an eye to the future. “I think Southern California has as many good juniors and sophomores as any area in the country. Our main focal point is corralling some of those kids and keeping them at home.”

Notes

UCLA assistant coach Lorenzo Romar’s recent decision to stay in Westwood rather than pursue the vacant head coaching jobs at Oregon State and Nevada Las Vegas was significant in several ways. Romar, considered the leading candidate at both schools, is highly regarded as a recruiter and for his ability to communicate with players. If he had taken the Oregon State job, it is likely he would have offered one of his assistant coaching positions to Compton Dominguez Coach Russell Otis, who confirmed that the two had discussed the possibility. That scenario would have made Oregon State the instant favorite to sign both of Dominguez’s star seniors, Tommy Prince and James Brown.

Romar figured prominently in the recruitment of All-American center Jelani McCoy of San Diego St. Augustine. The 6-11, 225-pound McCoy, who picked UCLA over Cal in November, averaged 25 points, 16 rebounds and 7.5 blocked shots per game this season. McCoy and 6-7 Paul Pierce of Inglewood High will represent California in the annual McDonald’s All-American Game on Sunday at the Kiel Center in St. Louis. CBS will televise the game at 9:30 a.m. PST. . . . UCLA’s other November signee, 6-1 Brandon Loyd of Tulsa, Okla., figures to be an interested observer of Saturday’s Final Four semifinal game between the Bruins and Oklahoma State. Loyd shunned in-state pressure and chose UCLA over the Cowboys.

. . . Another McDonald’s All-American, Vince Carter, a 6-6 swingman from Mainland, Fla., who might be the most physically gifted player in the 1995 high school class, is expected to announce his college choice today. The finalists are Florida State (the leader), North Carolina, Florida and Duke.

Add postseason games: Tustin guard Doug Gottlieb will play in the Magic Johnson all-star game April 8 in Auburn Hills, Mich. The 6-1 Gottlieb, who has signed with Notre Dame, will also play in an Indiana all-star game April 15 at Market Square Arena in Indianapolis.

UCLA’s team of the future is taking shape, what with the recent early commitments of two standout juniors--6-4 point guard Olujimi Mann of Santa Ana Valley and 6-6 1/2 Greg Clark of Grossmont High in La Mesa, near San Diego. Mann made his decision public just a few days after the other premier junior point guard prospect in the West, 6-1 Mike Bibby of Phoenix, announced that he had decided to attend Arizona. Bibby, son of former UCLA guard Henry Bibby, chose Arizona over the Bruins. He set a state single-season scoring record (1,071 points) this season, averaging 34.5 points per game.

Clark, a 215-pounder, averaged 26 points, 7.8 rebounds and 4.5 assists, while shooting 47% from the floor. “He’s a scoring machine,” said one major college assistant. He’s also an outstanding student, with a 3.6 grade-point average and a score of close to 1,000 on his Scholastic Assessment Test.

Brigham Young is expected to receive a verbal commitment this week from 6-9 Matt Christiansen of Belmont, Mass. Christiansen, whose father played basketball at BYU, was scheduled to visit Duke over the weekend. He has also taken recruiting trips to Stanford, North Carolina State, Seton Hall and Connecticut.

Football report: Tight end Travis Hall (6-2, 210), who caught 47 passes for 536 yards last season for Cal State Northridge, has transferred to USC, where he will be a redshirt this season and have one year of eligibility left. Hall, who attended high school at West Hills Chaminade Prep, also considered Nevada Las Vegas.

Add USC: The Trojans might wind up with another transfer this fall if quarterback/”athlete” Leon Blunt (5-10, 180) decides to leave Notre Dame. Blunt, who was heavily recruited by USC out of San Fernando High, played sparingly as a freshman last season and admitted having trouble adjusting to college life in South Bend, Ind. A source close to Blunt said he was strongly considering a transfer to one of three schools: USC, Arizona or Hawaii.

UCLA has an extra scholarship to offer now that junior inside linebacker Brent Guyton (6-1, 236) has transferred to James Madison. Guyton, a high school standout from Columbia, Md., who saw little playing time in his first two seasons, was having academic problems at UCLA.