Is Gottlieb Headed to UCLA After Leaving Notre Dame?

Doug Gottlieb might wind up at UCLA after all.

Gottlieb, a standout point guard from Tustin High, started at Notre Dame as a freshman last season but has left the school. He’s free to look elsewhere, and Gottlieb said Friday that UCLA looks pretty good to him.

“I’ve always thought about going there,” he said. “I’m just considering my options right now, but that’s something I’m definitely thinking about.”

Gottlieb started 23 games for the Fighting Irish, playing in all 27. He led the team in assists with 154, and averaged 4.6 points.

Coaches considered him to be one of the better freshman point guards in the Big East Conference, and he said he enjoyed his experience at Notre Dame. However, there were “some things in the program that I needed and couldn’t get from Notre Dame. Coach [John MacLeod] and I decided it was best I not come back,” Gottlieb said.

Said MacLeod: “We certainly wish him well.”

Gottlieb’s brother and sister attended UCLA and he considered the Bruins before choosing the Irish. But he’s not at the Bruins’ door yet.

Gottlieb cannot play at another NCAA Division I school next season. He said he is considering attending a community college but will not play basketball.

After next season, Gottlieb will have three seasons of eligibility remaining. But the Bruins have to want Gottlieb--by no means a sure thing.

Selected The Times Orange County player of the year for the 1994-95 season, Gottlieb (6 feet) led Tustin to the Southern Section Division II-A title game. Gottlieb averaged 19.4 points and 9.4 assists.

“I don’t know what I’m going to do for sure,” he said. “But I don’t plan to step down a level.”