GREAT SCOTT

No longer is he Billy the Kid, the 15-year-old hitting phenom from Alemany High who made scouts drool.

Now, he is Bill Scott, a 21-year-old UCLA junior and among the Pacific 10 Conference’s most feared sluggers.

Soon, Scott hopes to answer to a new handle: Big Leaguer. All according to the blueprint Scott began to follow as a freshman at Alemany.

Yet, not everything has gone according to plan.

Nearly six years after observers began taking a tape measure to Scott’s towering blasts, Scott hasn’t grown so much as he has persevered, matured and ultimately thrived.

A 24th-round draft choice by the Atlanta Braves in 1997, Scott opted instead to to attend college--a decision that has brought equal measures of frustration and success for Scott. But he has no regrets.

Besides, Scott, who leads UCLA (24-15) today in the first game of a crucial three-game series at first-place Arizona State, will reconsider a pro career in June, when he is expected to be selected in baseball’s amateur draft.

How high Scott is drafted is debatable, depending on damage done to his reputation by shoulder surgery he underwent in high school. Questions linger about Scott’s arm strength, but his bat speaks volumes.

Given the right circumstances, Scott said, he is ready to turn pro.

“Without a doubt, it was a tough decision and I spent a lot of nights thinking about it,” Scott sad. “But I’m very happy with what I did. If I could make one suggestion to anyone, it would be to go to college before you sign. It’s worth it.”

So far, Scott’s decision to pursue a professional career after college hasn’t been a bust. After a freshman season spent mostly disgruntled and on the bench, Scott burst through last season to lead the Pac-10 with 28 home runs and 86 runs batted in.

Scott, a 6-foot-1, 210-pound left fielder, led the conference in slugging percentage, total bases and head-shaking performances.

Case in point: he hit four home runs--including two grand slams--drove in 11 runs and had 17 total bases in a 16-15 loss to Washington. All were Pac-10 records.

This season, Scott leads the Bruins, 7-2 in conference play and 1 1/2 games behind Arizona State, with a .422 batting average. He also ranks second on the team with 14 home runs and 47 runs batted in.

“Part of last year had to do with what happened my freshman year,” Scott said. “I had so much to prove, it was just a matter of me getting in there. You can only say so much about yourself, you have to go out and prove it. I made it so there were no excuses for me not to play.”

Scott’s defensive ability might be a stumbling block. After his sophomore season at Alemany, he underwent shoulder surgery that resulted in a long recovery and loss of strength and velocity. He also suffered from tendinitis in his right elbow during the off-season and suffered a sprained wrist early this season.

Scott’s arm might be suspect, but he insists it is strong and problems are in the past. Aware of perceptions, Scott concedes they likely will have an influence on when he is drafted.

“I’m sure it will a little bit,” Scott said. “But there’s really nothing I can do about it. It’s something I know I’m going to improve on and they can say whatever they want to say.

“It’s tough, because you want to tell everybody, ‘Hey, I have a strong arm.’ I’ve had a strong arm in the past and I know I’ll have it again. It’ll get better, and when it does, that will be the end of all that.”

Proclaimed a rising star practically from the time he began to shave, Scott became used to skeptics at an early age. Most of them, he has silenced.

As a freshman, Scott batted .324 with four home runs in 27 games but repeatedly was told he wasn’t ready to play every day.

“You name it, I had everything told to me why I wasn’t playing,” Scott said. “It was really tough on me because I had never been in that position before with all the expectations that I had.

“I still believe that if I had started, I would have had a great year. That’s something a baseball player has to have, confidence in himself.”

Coach Gary Adams of UCLA recalled reading newspaper stories about Scott while he was a freshman at Alemany. By the time Scott signed with the Bruins, his reputation had grown and expectations were lofty.

“I was fearful of that,” Adams said. “Can a guy come in here and really live up to expectations? Yet, he’s gone out and done it.

“This young phenom out in the Valley, as it turns out, was everything that we said he would be.”

Adams said he would welcome Scott back next season but doesn’t expect him to return.

Scott would not rule out returning to Westwood.

“I’ve thought about it a lot,” Scott said. “It’s just one of those things I’ll have to deal with when it comes up.

“There are no numbers I have in my head or anything. I’ll just have to wait [for the draft].”