Conference Call

The call came without warning. Good thing Cal State Northridge Coach Bobby Braswell was sitting down.

On the line was Rico Harris, prize recruit of a select few big-time colleges that most certainly did not include Northridge.

The coach and player had been friendly for some time, so Braswell figured Harris simply wanted to shoot the breeze.

Instead, Harris said he wanted to shoot the ball for Northridge. Become a Matador. Play for Braswell. Now.

“It was amazing,” Braswell said. “I’d heard he was going to Rhode Island and I congratulated him. He said, ‘That’s not happening.’ ”

Harris, a 6-foot-9, 258-pound junior forward who some NBA scouts believe could be a first-round pick, told Braswell he didn’t want to live on the East Coast.

He said he resented that Mike Miller, his coach at L.A. City College, steered him toward Rhode Island because of Miller’s friendship with Jim Harrick, the Rhode Island coach.

He pointed out that to be eligible immediately, he needed to transfer to a school that would accept enough of the units he’d accumulated during one year at Arizona State and two at L.A. City.

And he added he didn’t mind playing in the lightly regarded Big Sky Conference in front of small crowds, as long as he was close enough to his Alhambra home so his mother, girlfriend, two brothers and sister could attend games.

“I was tired of everybody pressuring me,” Harris said. “I was stressed out. I told him, ‘I feel comfortable with you as my head coach.’ ”

Flabbergasted, Braswell remembered he had one available scholarship, and blurted out, “Rico, of course, it’s yours.”

The scholarship was available, Braswell said, because point guard Bradley Jackson of Inglewood High bailed out of his letter of intent with Northridge in June by purposely failing a high school class.

But Northridge, which has not had a winning season since joining Division I in 1990, is fine with Harris.

It’s no Rhode Island, which made the NCAA tournament final eight in Harrick’s first season. And it’s no Kentucky or Connecticut, other national powers that pursued Harris the last two seasons.

“Braswell built a relationship with my mom and myself from the time I was at Temple City High,” Harris said. “He kept things real. He doesn’t hype things up more than they are. I can tell he’s a good man.”

Whether Harris and Northridge are a good match is a topic of great disagreement, however.

“Rico Harris is Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde,” said one college coach who has followed Harris’ career. “I’m afraid he will create dissension at Northridge.”

Harris’ career has been an unsettling combination of dizzying heights and alarming depths. Every successful season has been followed by one rife with problems.

He was co-player of the year in the Rio Hondo League as a senior at Temple City, then arrested in connection with a sexual assault at Arizona State the next season while sitting out as an academic non-qualifer.

He led L.A. City College to a state championship one season, then became a disruptive influence the next.

So, what will it be at Northridge?

Will Harris lead the Matadors to the Big Sky championship and the school’s first NCAA tournament berth and raise his stock to the level of an NBA lottery pick?

Or will he expect special treatment from Braswell and too much of the ball from teammates, forcing the coach either to employ a double standard and create resentment or discipline Harris and lose a talented player’s contribution?

Upon enrolling at Northridge, Harris told Braswell to brace himself, that “You may hear some things about my past.”

Replied Braswell: “I don’t care about what has occurred anywhere else. I want you to understand what is expected of you here.”

Braswell was tested last season by forwards Mike O’Quinn and Jabari Simmons, talented players with checkered pasts. O’Quinn was suspended early in the season, but improved his attitude and became Northridge’s most valuable player. Simmons’ unpredictable behavior continued until Braswell removed him from the team.

“My standards and values will not be compromised for anyone,” Braswell said. “Rico wants to make the best of this opportunity. I’ve taken pride in getting players to reach another level, a level they don’t even know they can attain.”

Harris tested Miller’s patience last season and was suspended for six games for breaking team rules. The disruptions came a season after Harris was state player of the year and led L.A. City to the state championship.

“After one year, I’d achieved everything I could achieve at L.A. City and it was a mistake to go back,” Harris said. “Last year, I was the only returning player and some of my new teammates didn’t want to pass me the ball.

“Coach didn’t control the situation and that caused conflict. I should have been more enthusiastic. My attitude showed in games. I have no excuses. I was playing against my own teammates and coaching staff.”

Harris returned to L.A. City only because he failed a psychology class during the summer of 1997, making him three units short of being able to transfer to Rhode Island. Until then, he made academic progress--passing 36 units at L.A. City during the 1996-97 school year and 21 units at Arizona State in 1995-96.

It was almost as if Harris purposely failed the summer class to avoid heading east. “I prefer to say it was destiny,” he said.

A year later, he spurned Rhode Island again. Harrick cannot comment about a player who has committed to another school.

“I did recommend that he attend Rhode Island, and I stand firmly behind those recommendations,” Miller said when he learned of Harris’ decision. “His going to Cal State Northridge is a total and complete shock to me and to everyone in the basketball community.”

Miller has since tempered his view.

“Initially it was a surprise, but upon further reflection, it’s a wonderful marriage for both parties,” he said. “Rico has a chance to be the best player in the history of that program.

“Would I rather have had him go to Rhode Island? Yes. My relationship with Coach Harrick as a mentor supersedes any other relationship.”

Harris knew why Miller was pushing him to go to Rhode Island, and partly because their relationship soured, he looked for an alternative. He wanted to stay close to his mother, Margaret Fernandez, who is his strongest influence.

He also wanted to remain close to his girlfriend, Melinda Young, who is an architecture major at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo.

Harris’ options were limited. Because he left Arizona State after being cleared of accusations surrounding a sexual assault in 1996, he could not play for another Pacific 10 Conference school.

Several Division I schools would not accept all his units from L.A. City and Arizona State. Because he had been enrolled in college for three years, his eligibility was contingent upon having completed at least half the units toward a specific degree.

Northridge accepted enough units toward a Pan-African studies degree to make him eligible, adding one of the nation’s premier recruits to a roster already filled with what Braswell believes is the most talent the school has ever assembled.

“I’m not going to be on a team where my teammates won’t pass me the ball,” Harris said. “I won’t allow that to happen. But I know that chemistry is important and I’m trying to show I’m unselfish. I just want to win. This could be a history-making team.”

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

RICO HARRIS CHRONICLES

JUNE 1995

Harris, the Rio Hondo League co-player of the year, graduates from Temple City High with a grade-point average over 3.0, but does not achieve an SAT score high enough to qualify for a Division I scholarship and cannot attend UCLA, his first choice.

SEPTEMBER 1995

Harris attends Arizona State under Prop. 48, making him ineligible to play during the ‘95-96 season.

MARCH 1996

Harris, along with fellow ASU Prop. 48 freshmen Tommie Prince and George Gervin Jr., is arrested after an incident in a campus dormitory involving two women. Harris is the only one of the three not accused of sexual assault, but he is arrested on suspicion of unlawful imprisonment, threatening and intimidating. Following an investigation, criminal charges are not brought against the men because of inconsistent statements from all parties and because prosecutors said the women previously had consensual sex with the men.

APRIL 1996

The ASU Student Life Office imposes sanctions against Harris allowing him to remain at the school but suspending him from playing on the team for the ‘96-97 season.

AUGUST 1996

Harris leaves ASU and enrolls at L.A. City College, which he leads to the state junior college championship. Harris averages 16 points and 14 rebounds and is chosen state player of the year. He also passes 36 units, which combined with the 21 he earned at ASU, leaves him one three-unit class from being able to transfer to a Division I school.

JUNE 1997

Harris announces he will attend Rhode Island and play for Jim Harrick, who is to begin his first season as coach there.

AUGUST 1997

Harris fails a summer course he needed to become eligible at Rhode Island and returns to L.A. City.

MAY 1998

After enduring a tumultuous sophomore season during which he is suspended for six games for breaking team rules yet is selected to the all-state team, Harris places his name in the NBA draft and is invited to the prestigious Chicago pre-draft camp. He withdraws his name before the camp begins and again is recruited by Rhode Island.

AUGUST 1998

Harris telephones Cal State Northridge Coach Bobby Braswell and says he will attend Northridge because he wants to remain close to his mother, girlfriend and three siblings.