Rumor Mill Grinding at Cotton

Schea Cotton is changing high schools.

Schea Cotton is headed to Long Beach State.

Schea Cotton will declare for the NBA draft.

So many rumors, so little time to be 18.

Cotton, a former star forward at Mater Dei, has been the object of intense speculation in the Southland basketball community for as long as he can remember. And now, the summer before his senior year at Bellflower St. John Bosco High, life in the spotlight has been more frustrating than Cotton ever imagined.

Depending on whom you talk to, and when, Cotton is transferring to another school, preparing to join his brother, James, on the Long Beach basketball team or evaluating his draft prospects. Cotton hears the talk and tries to ignore it, but can’t.

The scrutiny is affecting his play, Cotton said during a break between games at the Nike All-American camp at Indiana-Purdue at Indianapolis. As reporters pressed Cotton about the rumors surrounding him, he went over all of it again.

“After awhile you get tired of talking about it, but it comes with the territory,” said Cotton, a Times all-county selection who left Mater Dei after his sophomore season. “If you want to play basketball you have to deal with the good and bad things.”

Cotton acknowledged that he didn’t play well early in the Nike Camp, saying that his legs were dead. He played well in an all-star game Thursday night, scoring 16 points with four rebounds and three assists.

Cotton missed most of last season because of injuries. Some speculated there were other reasons. But those types of rumors don’t bother Cotton.

What does upset him is that because of the rumors, college coaches believe he will definitely attend Long Beach. That’s wrong, he said.

“I think a lot of coaches stopped recruiting me because they think it’s a done deal--it’s not,” Cotton said. “Everything is open right now and I would just like to quiet that rumor.”

Cotton, who led the Monarchs to the Division I state title in 1995, said he is not planning to leave St. John Bosco. As for the speculation that he’s headed to the NBA, Cotton just laughs.

“That’s kind of ridiculous,” he said. “I think you should experience the college level and the college life because that’s another step in life. Even [the Minnesota Timberwolves’ Kevin] Garnett said he would have went back and done it if he could. I definitely want to go to college.”

Still, Cotton knows where he’s concerned, the stories won’t stop that easily.