A TANGLE OF COTTON

The crossover dribble is still there, and so is his jumping ability. His dunks seem almost unstoppable and his sweet jump shot might have become even sweeter.

But instead of showing his skills at UCLA or even getting ready for the NBA once the lockout ends, Schea Cotton is a 20-year-old freshman guard at Long Beach City College.

Cotton, a former Southern California prep phenom and the subject of a Sports Illustrated feature at 16, has been asked one question almost daily for the last four months: “How did you end up at LBCC?”

“It’s unfortunate but I had to go to a junior college,” Cotton said. “[The NCAA] will not let me go to a Division I school, so I have to make the best out of the situation.”

Whether “the situation” has been created by the NCAA, which is Cotton’s contention, or by Cotton, the NCAA’s position, he does appear to be making the most of it.

With a 29.1-point scoring average, Cotton has led Long Beach City to a 12-0 start. He’s shooting 59% from the field, including 56% on three-point attempts.

“He could average 40 to 45 points a game, but he’s happy scoring 20 or something like that,” Long Beach Coach Gary Anderson said. “Obviously, he’s good for us as a team, but I think we’re also good for him.”

Cotton is playing in front of family and friends again after a difficult four-year stretch in which he played only 11 games in Southern California.

“Yes, it [seems like it has been] forever, and it hasn’t been easy,” said Gaynell Cotton, Schea’s mother. “But, we’ve been trying to keep everything positive. Schea has gone through a lot of growth and maturity from all of this.”

After leading Santa Ana Mater Dei High to the 1995 State Division I title and being named Southern Section player of the year as a sophomore, Cotton transferred to Bellflower St. John Bosco. He missed most of his junior season and all of his senior year because of injuries.

Nonetheless, Cotton signed early with Long Beach State for the 1997-98 school year to play with his brother, James. But Schea later asked for his release when his brother gave up his senior season for the NBA draft.

That’s when Cotton’s problems with the NCAA began. He was a key figure in an NCAA investigation involving the financing of a Ford Explorer he was driving, an investigation that eventually turned up no wrongdoing.

After being given his release from Long Beach State, Cotton signed a letter to attend UCLA. But six days before fall classes began, Cotton’s qualifying SAT score was invalidated by the NCAA Initial Eligibility Clearinghouse after it ruled that he improperly received special accommodations--extra time and larger print on the question forms. He had failed to receive a qualifying score either of the two previous times he had taken the SAT.

Cotton’s family has been fighting the NCAA ever since, and although their battles have so far not been successful, they hope for Schea to be cleared to play at a Division I school soon.

Cotton’s attorney, Stuart Rice, said a suit asking that the NCAA’s decision on Cotton’s eligibility be overturned is pending in federal court in Los Angeles.

After learning he had been stripped of his college eligibility last year, Cotton decided to travel cross-country and attend St. Thomas More, a prep school in Oakdale, Conn.

“I weighed my options and I knew that I wanted a change,” Cotton said. “[St. Thomas] was good because it was secluded and was an all-boys’ school. I was devastated. . . . I got a chance to just concentrate on school, and I was able to grow.”

It didn’t take long for Cotton to get his game back after sitting out more than a year because of injuries ranging from a broken hand to a jammed shoulder. He helped St. Thomas More--which has five players on Division I rosters this season--to a 23-7 record, averaging 23 points and 11 rebounds.

After a short but intense recruiting process, Cotton signed his third letter of intent, with North Carolina State last April. But the NCAA said he was still ineligible.

That’s when Cotton decided to give Anderson, a longtime family friend, a call.

“Two days before school started, I get this message to call Schea. I thought he just wanted to talk but he asked me if he could play for us. It didn’t take me long to answer,” Anderson said.

“I mean, here is a Division I player, considered the tops in the country, and he’s not able to play. It had to be a downer for him. [Long Beach City] gives him a chance to play somewhere and enjoy it.”

Gaynell Cotton is happy to have her son back home, and he’s happy to be back. And Cotton has been able to get tips from both his father, James, and his brother, James Jr., who has been around instead of in Seattle with the SuperSonics because of the NBA lockout.

Playing for Anderson--whose son, Rick, is a former youth travel team teammate--has also benefited Cotton. Anderson has helped Cotton improve his outside game, which has improved enough to make him a potential NBA lottery pick, and his defense.

“I’ve become a more well-rounded player,” said Cotton, who has grown to 6 feet 5 and 215 pounds. “I’ve been able to expand my game.

“When I first came home and played in Eddie Jones’ all-star game, I tried to show everyone that I could still play. Now, I’m comfortable with being back and playing again. I don’t worry about everyone else.”

Anderson, who has known Cotton since he was 12, says that it’s Cotton’s work ethic that makes him such a dominant player. He also says that Cotton has been just as strong in the classroom.

Thanks to transferable credits earned during summer school at UCLA, Cotton is on course to earn his associate of arts degree at the end of next summer. That will be a potential backup to play at a Division I school next season in case the NCAA does not change its position on his eligibility.

Cotton says he is already looking forward to his third go-round with recruiting (although he hasn’t ruled out jumping to the NBA).

“This is kind of weird because this is my third time going through this,” Cotton said. “I just want to keep my options open, but I would like to go to school.”

Cotton won’t have any problems finding takers once he becomes eligible. But he acknowledges that he still looks at UCLA and wonders what might have been. “I can’t help but imagine myself in situations out there,” Cotton said. “I also wonder if I could have made a difference. . . . But things happen for a reason. I’ve learned that you have to deal with situations and do your best.”