Cotton Adjusting to Alabama’s Pace

Much-traveled sophomore Schea Cotton has found a home at Alabama.

Cotton, who led Mater Dei to the 1995 state Division I high school basketball championship, is averaging 16.4 points and 5.2 rebounds in his first season with the Crimson Tide.

Cotton finished his high school career at Bellflower St. John Bosco, but injuries sidelined him for most of his junior and senior seasons there.

Cotton originally committed early to Long Beach State so he could play with his brother, James, but when James opted to go into the NBA draft, Cotton asked for his release and received it. He later signed with UCLA, but his SAT score was ruled invalid by the NCAA.

After that, Cotton decided to attend St. Thomas More, a prep school in Oakdale, Conn. He then played for a year at Long Beach College before transferring to Alabama.

“I wanted to play for a coach I could have a personal relationship with, and I found that at Alabama,” Cotton said by telephone. “Coach [Mark] Gottfried and I are a good fit.”

Cotton, a 6-foot-5 guard, said he’s beginning to feel comfortable in Tuscaloosa.

“It was a big adjustment at first,” Cotton said. “I’m a city guy, and I’m used to the hustle and bustle. The pace is a lot slower here.

“I’ve worked hard to try to fit in with the basketball program. I just want to have the good college experience here I’ve been looking for.”

Cotton has become more of a force on offense as the season has progressed. He has scored 15 or more points in the last five games, and had 29 recently against Mississippi.

Alabama is 10-10 this season.

KOLBACH TRANSFERS

Mike Kolbach, who played baseball at Mater Dei, has transferred from Texas to UC Santa Barbara and is in line to be the Gauchos’ starting first baseman this season.

Kolbach was a part-time starter at Texas for Coach Augie Garrido as a freshman when he batted .296 with four home runs and 23 runs batted in. His playing time was reduced last season, and he batted .174.

As a senior at Mater Dei, Kolbach batted .427 and had a 1.71 earned-run average with 77 strikeouts as a pitcher.

NOTEWORTHY

Sophomore Marcus Skacel of Laguna Niguel (Santa Margarita High) is a regular on the Stanford men’s volleyball team. Skacel is averaging 2.86 kills a game and is second on the team in digs with an average of 1.91. The Cardinal is ranked 13th nationally, but is off to a 2-6 start after losing to No. 14 Lewis University in the first round of the Ball State Invitational tournament in Muncie, Ind., on Friday. Skacel, an outside hitter, had 14 kills in that match. He started Stanford’s last nine matches last season as a freshman.

Stanford freshman golfer Ron Won (University High) is ranked 96th among the nation’s top college players by Golfweek.com.