For Colin Dutton, There Is No Place Like Kansas

A smorgasbord of notes, quotes and opinions from across the San Fernando Valley and its surrounding communities:

Normally, college coaches are the ones sending out letters and making contacts with potential recruits. But Colin Dutton, a senior shotputter at Notre Dame High, decided to reverse roles and become the recruiter.

Lorri Larowe, track coach at Kansas, had never heard of Dutton until she received an e-mail last year:

“Hi, my name is Colin Dutton. I’m from Los Angeles. I’ve been competing in the shotput. It’s become my life. . .”

Dutton has relatives in Kansas and thought going to school there would be neat.

“I called them up and actually wanted to talk with the coaches to see what I had to do, not to get a scholarship, but to get recruited,” he said.

Dutton intrigued the Kansas coaches by telling them he was 6 feet 3 and had tossed the shotput 54-3 in a summer meet without serious weight training.

“They were impressed,” Dutton said. “They started calling me.”

Dutton was accepted into school and will enroll next fall without a scholarship but with a promise of future aid if his shotput marks continue to improve.

There’s every reason to believe he’s going to provide competition this season for his more publicized teammate, Travis Johnson, defending Southern Section Division III shotput champion.

Dutton has gained close to 50 pounds thanks to weight lifting and eating second and third helpings at daily meals. He’s up to 265 pounds.

When he leaves for Kansas, he won’t know how to grow corn but he’ll sure know how to eat it.

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Sitting among the capacity crowd at the Buena-Ventura girls’ basketball game last week was actor Kevin Costner, who played C basketball for Coach Joe Vaughan of Buena when he attended the school as a sophomore.

“He was 5-6, 115 pounds, had size 10 shoes and was trying to find himself,” Vaughan said. “He was a very good player.”

Costner moved from Ventura County, but never forgot how helpful Vaughan was during his high school days. He supports Buena as a fan and financial donor, and Vaughan frequently attends Costner’s movie premieres.

“He’s always been very nice to my family,” Vaughan said. . . .

UCLA is taking a serious look at recruiting 6-8 Josiah Johnson of Montclair Prep. Coach Steve Lavin was at the Van Nuys campus on Monday. Like his older brother, Kris, who played for the Bruins, Johnson is creating interest because of his potential. He’s no McDonald’s All-American, but he’s a hard-working, smart, good-shooting post player. . . .

Coach Mark Drucker of Taft should be doing cartwheels with the favorable draw his team received for the City Championship boys’ basketball tournament. It would be a disappointment if the Toreadors (19-2) don’t advance to the semifinals. This is the weakest City tournament in years, making it a great opportunity for Valley teams. . . .

Sophomore Matt Moore is supposed to be Hart’s quarterback of the future. He’s 6-3 with lots of potential. And don’t forget about his baseball skills. He has earned the starting job at shortstop. “He’s got a real good arm,” baseball Coach Jim Ozella said. . . .

Harvard-Westlake’s baseball team went 0-12 in Mission League last season, but the Wolverines figure to be stronger with the addition of two top freshmen--third baseman Richard Irvin and shortstop Josh Satin. . . .

Four members of Moorpark Little League’s 1996 World Series team are on the Moorpark varsity--sophomores Blake Sharpe, Aaron Garcia and Beto Macias and junior Robbie Jaegge. . . .

Eric Zdenek, an All-Mission League defensive back from Chaminade, has decided to walk on at UCLA. His brother, Jason, is a defensive back for the Bruins. . . .

Nathan Kaup, former Camarillo outfielder, leads Nevada Las Vegas in batting after eight games. He’s batting .500 (17 for 34) with six doubles and 13 runs batted in. . . .

Michael Jackson, a freshman pitcher at Gonzaga from Crespi, pitched 1 2/3 innings of scoreless relief in two victories over Washington State. Barry Matthews, a former Crespi outfielder, had six RBIs and picked up a pitching victory.

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Kevin Rooney, football coach at Notre Dame, received plenty of abuse from his fellow teachers for turning 50 last month. One of his birthday presents was a cane with a horn and magnifying glass attached to it. . . .

The negotiations to hire a new football coach at Alemany are dragging on in Ken Griffey-like style. The school wants to hire Chris Kincaid, a former Indian assistant who has served as defensive coordinator at Irving High in Texas. Maybe he found out Alemany has scheduled a nonleague game against Long Beach Poly. . . .

Tyler Newton, a 6-9 senior center at Burroughs, deserves the award for most improved player. He has gone from a junior varsity player last season to averaging 15 points and 13.2 rebounds this season. . . .

The three best unsigned college prospects at pitcher are Ivan Lopez of Sylmar, Michael Frost of Campbell Hall and Jose Montes of San Fernando. . . .

The softball player with the surest glove is first baseman Shawna Lane of Thousand Oaks. She has gone more than 400 chances without an error. . . .

Bill Redell, new football coach at Oaks Christian in Westlake Village, is surrounded by former assistants. Mike Sanders of Thousand Oaks, Jim Benkert of Westlake and Tim Lins of Moorpark once coached under Redell.

“I feel a little like General Custer,” Redell said. . . .

Nick DiPadova, former Taft quarterback who was 1996 City co-player of the year, has returned from a two-year Mormon mission to the Philippines and re-enrolled at Brigham Young. He’ll take part in spring practice with the Cougars. . . .

Kevin Howard, former Westlake shortstop, has made three starts as a freshman for Miami. He’s four for 11 with five RBIs.

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Eric Sondheimer’s local column appears Wednesday and Sunday. He can be reached at (818) 772-3422 or eric.sondheimer@latimes.com