Schea Cotton Going to Long Beach State

Schea Cotton, a senior forward at Bellflower St. John Bosco High and one of the most coveted recruits in this season’s college basketball class, committed Tuesday to Long Beach State, where his brother James is a standout guard.

“I was looking at a lot of great schools and it was a real tough decision,” Cotton said. “But I wanted to stay close to home and Long Beach just seemed like the best place, the right place, for me. Now I can keep eating my mama’s cooking.”

Cotton said he will sign a letter of intent with the 49ers during the early signing period in November. Cotton, who plans to take the SAT on Oct. 12, has averaged more than 22 points and 10 rebounds during his high school career.

Many of the nation’s elite programs were recruiting the 6-foot-5, 210-pound Cotton. National champion runner-up Syracuse, Connecticut and Kansas were among the schools scheduling home visits with the Cottons during September. Pepperdine was also high on Cotton’s list because of his fondness for Coach Lorenzo Romar, the widely respected former UCLA assistant.

“The final two choices in California were Long Beach and Pepperdine,” said Cotton’s mother, Gaynell. “Coach Romar is such a classy guy, we knew Schea could have learned a lot from him.”

A two-year starter at Mater Dei High who led the Monarchs to the 1994-95 state Division I title, Cotton said his ties to the 49er coaching staff helped him decide. Lead assistant coach Clyde Vaughan is a friend of the family and first-year assistant Tom Lewis coached Cotton during his sophomore year at Mater Dei.

“Coach Vaughan has been through a lot with us and I know him real well,” Cotton said. “The year I worked with Coach Lewis was great. And I really warmed up quickly to [first-year head] Coach Wayne Morgan.”

James Cotton, a junior, led the Big West Conference in scoring last season.

“I’m very happy,” James said. “I’m going to look out for him and so are all of the coaches.”

NCAA rules prohibit Long Beach coaches from commenting.

After transferring to St. John Bosco for his junior year, Cotton sat out most of the basketball season because of injuries.

Bob Gibbons, a recruiting evaluator in North Carolina, recently listed Cotton as the nation’s No. 3 prospect.