Feeding Frenzy

Jarron and Jason Collins ended the frenzied, final days of their college recruiting ordeal more than two weeks ago by selecting Stanford.

Finally, they’re ready to start playing some basketball.

So, why does everyone keep asking them about UCLA?

Just last week, Jarron (6 feet 9) and Jason (6-10), the biggest men on campus at Harvard-Westlake High and among the most talented high school players in the nation, again found themselves standing side by side before a television camera in the school gym, taking turns politely regurgitating the same old answers to the same old questions regarding recent turmoil in Westwood:

No, they hadn’t decided on committing to UCLA before changing their minds after the abrupt firing three weeks ago of Bruin Coach Jim Harrick.

Yes, they were guests last month at the now-infamous recruiting dinner in Westwood that led to Harrick submitting a bogus expense report and subsequently being dismissed.

No, they were not aware that an NCAA recruiting violation was being committed because fewer recruits than Bruin players were present at the meal.

Yes, they were surprised that Harrick was fired, and yes, they considered his punishment too severe.

No, the media full-court press won’t let up.

“The phone was ringing like crazy, especially when we got down to the last couple of weeks,” said Toni Brown, athletic secretary at Harvard-Westlake. “We were getting calls every day from people wanting to know about them, and I’m the one answering three lines at once.”

The focus figures to shift slightly, from the twins to their team, when Harvard-Westlake, which was 30-2 last season, opens defense of its state Division III title Monday by playing host to Antelope Valley. But bet on more hoopla being made that day; it happens to be Jarron’s and Jason’s 18th birthday.

Since joining the varsity team as freshmen, the Collinses have become favorites of Harvard-Westlake Coach Greg Hilliard. But Hilliard, whose schedule has included an incessant stream of inquiries from recruiters and reporters regarding the Collinses during the past 4 1/2 months, admits that their departure will provide much-needed serenity at the Studio City campus.

“It’ll be nice to have things get back to normal around here,” Hilliard said.

Few probably figured the Collinses, who have led the Wolverines to two Southern Section championships, to choose Palo Alto, family and academics over Westwood and basketball.

The twins pared their college choices from a pool of about 15 schools--including Duke, Kansas, Notre Dame and Virginia--to three: Arizona, Stanford and UCLA. They said they based their decision largely on their desire to play before their maternal grandfather, who lives in the Bay Area and is confined to a wheelchair.

They were not about to overlook academics, either.

“All three of the schools could develop us, basketball-wise,” Jarron said. “All three could develop us for life. Not to take anything away from the other schools, it was just that Stanford was the best decision to make.”

There are no regrets, no sense of having settled for less. And neither player was concerned when Stanford Coach Mike Montgomery’s name was reported as a possible candidate to replace Harrick. The subject, in fact, never came up during recruiting, the twins said.

“It would make a difference [if he left],” Jarron said. “But we’re not going to Stanford because of Coach Montgomery.”

Choosing a college was a process the Collinses described as less painstaking than some people might have imagined, especially for two players whose options were many.

Only in the final days did sorting things out become difficult. The twins arrived at their decision through lengthy sessions isolated behind closed doors, scribbling notes on slips of paper and exchanging them for review.

“We weeded out the ones that weren’t top priority and evaluated the pluses and minuses,” Jason said.

Said Jarron: “[Harrick’s firing] made the situation a little more difficult. But we hadn’t made up our minds. It was a tough decision to make, but I’d say the whole process was enjoyable.”

So, too, they agree, is living in a fishbowl, despite the redundancy of most interviews and the fact that some members of the media still have trouble telling the two players apart.

Basketball, throughout the season with Harvard-Westlake and during the off-season with the American Roundball Corp., has taken the twins to more than a dozen major cities in the United States. Along the way, they have elevated their game and their fame, while honing their public-relations skills.

Jason, who averaged 18.2 points and 11.9 rebounds, was The Times’ Valley player of the year last season. Jarron, who averaged 14.3 points and 3.7 assists, was an all-Valley selection.

They have been featured by virtually every Southern California television station and have been interviewed by too many newspaper reporters to recall.

“I don’t get tired of the publicity,” Jarron said. “I’m kind of narcissistic, so it doesn’t bother me.”

Basketball is a priority, and both players aspire to play professionally. But at every turn, they are praised and portrayed solely as athletes.

Isn’t anyone interested in what they’re really like?

“The thing about being a basketball player is that there are always stupid, negative connotations that you’re just a dumb jock,” Jarron said. “That’s something I just hate.

“I take myself as a student-athlete. I don’t want to just come to school, float through my classes and then get on the basketball court. We are two people. And that’s what we want to be seen as.”

Said Jason: “You can only try so hard to change people’s opinions, but I do what I can to make it known that I am more than just a basketball player.”

Indeed, while the desire to express individuality comes with being a twin, the task has been doubly difficult for Jarron and Jason.

Only those close to the Collinses, for instance, know of Jarron’s quick wit and of Jason’s humble nature.

“Jason is quieter, more deliberate about thinking things through,” Hilliard said. “Jarron is more outgoing. He exhibits more sides of his personality.”

Even fewer people are aware that the twins appeared in television commercials as infants, or that they share an interest in acting.

Jarron and Jason relished their bit roles in a recent campus production of “Guys and Dolls.” Their entrance on stage was greeted with thunderous applause.

“They were into the spirit of it and very serious about the work, which they are about everything,” said Ted Walch, chairman of the performing arts department at Harvard-Westlake. “They were on time for rehearsals and they took direction well.”

Both are good students. Jason’s favorite subject is history, Jarron’s astronomy. Jason recently took up golf, Jarron prefers tennis.

Jason enjoys spending Sundays rooting for the Dallas Cowboys, while Jarron barely is interested in football.

“He’s one of those people, when it comes down to Sunday, he isn’t doing anything but watching football, and it’s the stupidest thing,” Jarron said.

“If I even change the channel during a commercial, he goes nuts.”

Yes, sometimes they even argue. They’re brothers. And more than basketball players.

Really, selecting Stanford should have come as no surprise.

“They wanted people to know they could go to Stanford and that they could do the job,” Hilliard said. “Just another message they wanted to send out.”