Ten months after heralded Compton Dominguez High boys' basketball Coach Russell Otis was removed for allegedly attempting to molest one of his players, the Dons' powerful program is in disarray.
The school that has won six state championships in the last 20 years has no coach. Its best player, heavily recruited forward Keala King, has transferred to Orange County powerhouse Santa Ana Mater Dei. Left are three returning players who averaged a combined seven points last season.
Otis, who coached the Dons for nearly two decades, winning 10 Southern Section titles and sending three players to the NBA and dozens more to major colleges, was fired in June while awaiting trial on charges that he offered to pay one of his players $1,500 to perform a sex act.
Los Angeles County prosecutors have also charged him with felony grand theft for depositing a $15,000 Nike sponsorship check, payable to the school district, into his personal checking account. Otis, 46, is free on bail and has denied wrongdoing. He pleaded not guilty to all charges and said he will appeal his termination. His trial is scheduled for Sept. 2.
Last season, Dominguez tapped former USC and Lakers guard Duane Cooper to coach during Otis' absence. Cooper directed the Dons, still stacked with talent, to a 26-7 record and a Southern Section semifinal. But Cooper said he was told by school administrators in June that he would have to reapply for his job as part of a new Compton Unified School District policy that coaches possess a teaching credential. Cooper lacks such a credential, though he said he passed the California Basic Educational Skills Test and is enrolled in a master's degree program. He has interviewed for the Dominguez position but doesn't even have keys to open the school's gymnasium.
District Superintendent Kaye Burnside and Dominguez Principal Rigoberto Roman did not respond to telephone messages left by The Times.
Summer is when top teams build chemistry and challenge each other in tournaments, but Dominguez is in limbo a little more than four months before its opening tipoff.
Some in the local basketball community are wondering whether the turmoil might mark the end of a dynasty -- an elite team that has traveled throughout the United States to play, its players decked out in Nike-provided shoes, sweats and uniforms.
"We were supposed to schedule them this year, but I don't want to waste a game on them if their cupboard's bare," Compton High Coach Tony Thomas said.
