Cotton Looks at Two Prep Schools

In a move that could mean would-be UCLA basketball recruit Schea Cotton has given up on playing for the Bruins this season, Cotton and his parents were in Connecticut over the weekend touring at least two college prep schools.

Cotton, declared academically ineligible by the NCAA last month, visited St. Thomas More in Oakdale and Milford Academy in Milford, St. Thomas More Coach Jere Quinn said Sunday.

Quinn said the Cotton family strolled the school’s lakefront campus Friday and Milford sometime later.

“They said they would give me an answer Sunday or Monday,” Quinn said.

If the Cottons decide St. Thomas is the place for Schea, Quinn said, Schea could start classes in a week.

“St. Thomas is a small school, so we could act very quickly,” said Quinn, who is also dean of admissions. “The family still has to make some decisions about what they want to do, but I think they liked the school and the tour went very well.”

Stuart Rice, attorney for the Cottons, said Friday he could not confirm that Schea was visiting prep schools in Connecticut. Neither Rice nor the Cottons could be reached for comment Sunday.

If Cotton enrolls in a prep school, something he has said was an option since the NCAA threw out his Scholastic Assessment Test score, he will be the latest high school athlete to seek refuge in a system almost unheard of on the West Coast.

New England prep schools are experiencing a surge of interest from athletes who have graduated from high school but have failed to earn the minimum grade-point average or SAT score to qualify for NCAA eligibility.

In the New England Prep School League, high school graduates are allowed to compete in sports while they improve their academic standing or prepare for the SAT. And unlike at a junior college, they do this without losing any NCAA eligibility.

“They don’t have prep schools in the West,” Quinn said, “it’s an East Coast phenomenon. An athlete comes here and gets a second chance, an extra year to prepare for college.”

Rico Hines, a UCLA freshman, was ruled academically ineligible by the NCAA Clearinghouse coming out of high school in 1996. The 6-4 guard attended Hargrave Military Academy in Virginia last year before gaining NCAA eligibility and enrolling at UCLA.

Quinn said 45 former St. Thomas players are competing for Division I schools, including Ed Cota of North Carolina and Devonaire Deas of Florida State.

Regardless of which prep school wins the Cottons’ favor, it will be little comfort to UCLA, which had signed Schea, one of the most highly regarded high school players in the country, in the spring, only to have the NCAA nullify Cotton’s SAT score two days before school started Sept. 18.

In a letter sent to the NCAA two weeks ago, Rice contended that Cotton had fulfilled all NCAA requirements and requested that the organization reinstate his eligibility.

The NCAA’s only response came Friday when Cotton received a request for written authorization that would allow its executives to release information to his attorney.

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Times staff writer Tim Kawakami contributed to this story.