Bruins Sign One Recruit, Wait for Word on Jason Hart

UCLA, which has its top six basketball players returning but needs a point guard, failed to get one in the late-signing period, which ended Tuesday.

The Bruins did sign their first recruit for the class of 2000, 6-foot-4 guard Rico Hines of St. John’s at Prospect Hall in Frederick, Md., the high school Cameron Dollar attended. But Hines, who averaged 11 points, 5.2 rebounds and 3.3 assists as a senior, is not projected as a point guard.

Also Tuesday, forward Nate James, Hines’ more heralded teammate, announced that he had chosen Duke over Maryland and UCLA.

But UCLA could still come up with a candidate. Highly regarded Inglewood High point guard Jason Hart has signed a letter of intent with Syracuse but is trying to get released from that commitment, and if he does, could end up in Westwood next season.

Hart, who had a standout senior season, committed to Syracuse early but now wants to stay closer to his ailing brother.

Earlier this month, Fontana wingman Corey Benjamin, one of the top prospects in the West, signed with Oregon State after the Bruins determined that he probably would not be academically eligible to play his freshman season. Santa Ana Valley guard Olujimi Mann also fell out of the mix because of academic problems.

USC, meanwhile, announced that it had signed Jarvis Turner, a 6-8 forward from South Bakersfield High who averaged 24.1 points and 9.7 rebounds as a senior, bringing its total of signed players to eight.