CS Northridge MVP Dorsey Bolts for Japanese Pro Team : Basketball: Forward who led Matadors in scoring, rebounding as a junior won’t be back.

Mike Dorsey has signed a contract with Team Isuzu of Japan’s top professional basketball league, foregoing his senior season of eligibility at Cal State Northridge.

Dorsey, a 6-foot-4 forward, had team-high averages of 12.7 points and 7.1 rebounds last season, his first with the Matadors after transferring from Los Angeles City College. He was a first-team All-American West Conference selection and also Northridge’s most valuable player.

Mike Miller, the player’s adviser and former junior college coach, said Dorsey agreed to a one-year contract worth $80,000 after taxes, plus expenses, air fare and tuition for him to complete his college degree. Dorsey becomes a free agent and holds the option to renew his contract after each of the next four years.

“It’s a good deal with all the perks,” Miller said. “Plus, with the endorsement opportunities this opens for him, he can make more money over there selling shoes than he can playing basketball.”

Dorsey this month has been playing in the Asian Games as a member of the Japanese national team. He was in Korea and unavailable for comment.

Informed of Dorsey’s decision, Northridge coaches expressed disappointment but not surprise. Dorsey briefly considered a pro career in Japan even before he signed with the Matadors.

“Obviously we wish he would have waited, but $80,000 tax-free is a good deal,” said Mike Johnson, a Northridge assistant. “That’s better than most anybody else graduating from Northridge with a degree is going to make next year.”

Northridge Coach Pete Cassidy, reached in Cannemara, Ireland, where he is vacationing, said: “It’s a big loss. But, at the same time, I’m very happy for Mike.”

The son of a Japanese mother and an American father, Dorsey is a valuable asset to his new team. Japanese rules allow each pro team to carry two players from the U.S., but Dorsey, because he maintains dual citizenship, does not count as an American.

Team Isuzu is one of 12 company-sponsored teams competing at the highest professional level in Japan. From those teams, the best Japanese players are selected to compete on the national team.

Dorsey impressed Japanese officials in April during a week-long tryout while Northridge was on spring break. He returned to Japan this summer and has been averaging 26 minutes of playing time per game since being added to the national team.

“He’s their answer to Michael Jordan,” Miller said. “With his quickness and leaping ability, he adds a whole new dimension to their game.”

Dorsey, from Riverside, has several relatives in Japan, including the parents of his mother, Ikuko. Dorsey’s father, the late Willie Dorsey, was an entertainer.

Before he left for Japan in April, Dorsey expressed excitement about his tryout.

“This is a great opportunity for my family over there to see me play,” he said. “All they ever get to see are pictures.”

Dorsey shot a team-best 58%, pacing Northridge in scoring in nine different games and in rebounding in 14, including the last nine games of the season. He also led the Matadors with 31 steals and was second with 21 blocked shots and 61 assists.

“I think his second year here, just being more used to the system, would have been even better,” Cassidy said.

Along with his production, Northridge also loses a crowd favorite. Routinely matched against opponents several inches taller and more than a few pounds heavier, Dorsey used his quickness and leaping ability to break loose for spectacular slam dunks. He was the player the Matadors hoped to build around in hopes of improving on their 8-20 record of last season.

Cassidy said the loss of Dorsey will not disrupt his plans to increase the team’s tempo at both ends of the floor.

“With the people we have we’d be foolish not to look for every opportunity to (fast break),” Cassidy said. “Mike was not a one-man show. We still have some players, some good players, and we’ll be OK.

“Let’s be happy for Mike, but at the same time, it’s time to move on.”