It's His Land of Enchantment
Usually the player who leads the nation in scoring is someone along the lines of Mike Helms of Oakland (Mich.) or Henry Domercant of Eastern Illinois.
Somebody you've never heard of, from a school whose nickname you might or might not know.
The name Ruben Douglas ought to ring a bell.
He started for Arizona in 1999 alongside fellow freshmen Richard Jefferson and Michael Wright.
Then he was gone, transferring to New Mexico after freshman Gilbert Arenas beat him out at shooting guard the next season.
You'll find Arizona at No. 1 in the polls now, and Arenas and Jefferson are NBA veterans.
And Douglas?
He has resurfaced at No. 1 in the NCAA scoring statistics, averaging 28.5 points a game as a senior for the Lobos after bolstering his lead with a 43-point performance in a loss Monday to San Diego State.
(The fans got their money's worth. San Diego State's Evan Burns, the UCLA recruit who never played for the Bruins after failing to be admitted, scored a career-high 31 off the bench in the same game.)
As the season winds down, Douglas and New Mexico are 9-15 and close to handing in their jerseys. He's one shooting star you don't figure to see in the NCAA tournament.
Meanwhile, Luke Walton and his cohorts are ready to try to win a national championship, as Douglas is well aware.
"Aw, man, that's your goal when you come to college, to get a ring," he said. "But that's a closed chapter in my life. Right now I don't even know the new guys. Mostly I cheer for my boy Luke. They're winning, and I just want him to do well.
"I made a statement when I left Arizona that it was a great program before I got there, it was great when I was recruited there and it would be great after I left. I just needed to go my own way."
Douglas, who led California high school players with a 34.8 scoring average as a senior at Burbank Bell-Jeff in 1998, is not the only talented player to leave the Arizona program in search of playing time.
Dennis Latimore, a sophomore forward, became the latest this week after his playing time plunged to a minute here, five minutes there. Sophomore guard Will Bynum, who started a number of games as a freshman, cited playing time when he transferred to Georgia Tech this season after falling behind Salim Stoudamire. Last season, Travis Hanour left for San Diego State.
Had Douglas known Arenas would only play two seasons at Arizona before turning pro, who knows if he would have stayed.
