Pruitt Still Has Much to Prove

Gabriel Pruitt has been set free from his one season of basketball purgatory, sitting out his junior year after the City Section ruled he had submitted a false address while trying to gain eligibility at state champion Westchester High.

Pruitt didn’t agree with the decision but accepted it.

“We just decided not to fight it and let it go,” he said.

The bitterness is gone, replaced by a smile that’s visible whenever he’s having fun on the court.

Off the court, it wasn’t fun. Westchester won its fourth consecutive City Championship and second consecutive state title while Pruitt wasn’t allowed to sit on the bench or to practice with the team.

Adding to his misery, Pruitt’s basketball reputation was diminished. Arron Afflalo, his former teammate at Compton Centennial, and Jordan Farmar from Woodland Hills Taft passed him in the minds of college recruiters and became Southern California’s top junior guard prospects.

But Pruitt discovered that sitting out a season didn’t scare away college recruiters. He continued to receive letters of interest. And last week, he made a commitment to USC, even though he still has much to prove.

Based on his freshman and sophomore seasons at Centennial, many viewed Pruitt as a future NCAA Division I player, but can he be an effective point guard at the highest level? That’s what this spring, summer and winter will reveal as he takes over a decisive role at Westchester.

“Athletically, he’s a terrific player,” Westchester Coach Ed Azzam said. “I don’t know if point is his natural position, so he has to work hard to be comfortable at it.”

The 6-foot-3 Pruitt was known more for his shooting skills when he played alongside Afflalo on Centennial’s Division III state runner-up team in 2001-02.

He transferred to Westchester expecting to play point guard, until the City Section ruled him ineligible. All signs indicate he has the ballhandling and leadership skills to succeed.

But Pruitt’s lost season can’t be waved off as a little setback. It has delayed his development and cost him a year of practice and game experience against top competition.

“You can’t make up for what you lost,” Azzam said. “That year is gone. It’s unfortunate he wasn’t able to play and improve, but he’s still one of the top players in the country.”

However, the emotional and physical toll he experienced is a warning to others and should be taken into consideration when players weigh the risk of transferring.

“I never thought this would happen when I transferred,” Pruitt said. “It wasn’t worth it to sit out a year.”

He did his best to stay in shape, training with a private coach, former UCLA guard Rod Foster.

The City Section made sure Pruitt didn’t participate in Westchester’s success. On the night the Comets played for the state championship last March in Sacramento, Pruitt was making his spring basketball debut in a local league for club players.

“I told the coach I wished him good luck,” Pruitt said.

On Tuesday night at Westchester in a spring league game, Pruitt was making jump shots and looking every bit like the player he’s supposed to become.

Pruitt appropriately suffered the consequences for breaking a rule, accepted his punishment and now is ready again to stake his claim as one of the top basketball players in Southern California.

“I want to show people I’m back,” he said.

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Two high school quarterbacks who graduated in January so they would be able to compete in spring practice for their new college teams have made positive early impressions.

Richard Irvin from Pasadena Muir and Cary Dove from Woodland Hills Taft left their new coaches at Tulane and California, respectively, feeling as if they made wise recruiting choices.

Because of injuries to other quarterbacks, Irvin received lots of action in spring practices at Tulane, where he’ll be competing for the No. 2 spot behind former Venice standout J.P. Losman, a possible first-round NFL draft pick in 2004.

Dove was given close scrutiny as part of a group of quarterbacks seeking to replace Kyle Boller at California.

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Student Sports magazine is putting together an eight-team summer passing tournament on July 17 at USC that is supposed to bring together the top passing schools in Southern California. Newhall Hart has been invited.

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A year ago, infielder Ryan Braun ended his high school career for Granada Hills with a home run at Dodger Stadium in the City Invitational final. Now at Miami, he’s one of the nation’s top college freshmen. He’s batting .361 with 13 home runs. He’ll be home Thursday when Miami plays a three-game series at Long Beach State.

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Eric Sondheimer can be reached at eric.sondheimer@latimes.com.