Basketball Players

Katin Reinhardt started hearing it last December, when he committed to accepting a basketball scholarship from USC. Great news, Trojans fans told him, but we hope you don't transfer. It's true. Fans were talking about the possibility of his leaving before he arrived — or even had signed his letter of intent. The reason? Two words: Mater Dei. The private high school in Santa Ana perennially challenges for championships and produces players who earn scholarships from the nation's very best college basketball programs.

At Harvard-Westlake, a private high school in the shadows of the Hollywood Hills, players from the basketball team heaped praise on the alumnus who this week became the first active NBA player to announce that he is gay. "We have a lot of pride in him," Michael Sheng, 17, said of Jason Collins. "He's a hero, an icon for what he has done. " Support from basketball players was more tentative at Susan Miller Dorsey High, a school in the heart of Los Angeles' black community that has long been an athletic powerhouse, producing numerous NFL and NBA players.

The only way either of the Boykin brothers, Jamal and Ruben, escaped his family chores while growing up was to defeat the other in a game of one-on-one basketball. "We have a big yard and big trees, so the loser would have to do a lot of stuff," Jamal said. "You would have to rake the leaves in the front of the house, the side of the house and the back of the house. The games were real personal. You'd feel sorry for the loser, but you didn't want to be raking leaves."

Lots of parents have named their sons Jordan after Michael Jordan, the NBA Hall of Famer. There could be a day parents name their daughters Jordin after Jordin Canada, the junior point guard from Los Angeles Windward who might be the best in the nation as a ball handler and facilitator. She has been selected the girls' basketball player of the year in Southern California by The Times. At 5 feet 7, she towered over opponents by the way she controlled games in helping Windward win its first 32 games until a 60-45 loss to Oakland Bishop O'Dowd in the CIF state championship Open Division final.

The children at the junior high in Carson listened carefully as Frank Lubin, a former U.S. Olympic basketball player, spoke during a recent career day. Lubin told the youngsters to stay in school and to avoid drugs and alcohol because they had the potential to be Olympic athletes. When Lubin was finished, they pestered him for autographs. It was the repeat of a scene from the early part of the century.

David Robinson and Danny Manning head the list of players invited to begin training later this month for berths on the U.S. Olympic basketball teams. Also invited to Georgetown University July 17 were Willie Anderson, Stacey Augmon, Vernell Coles, Sean Elliott, Danny Ferry, Jeff Grayer, Hersey Hawkins, Randolph Keys, Todd Lichti, Dan Majerle, Alonzo Mourning, Dyron Nix, J.R. Reid, Mitch Richmond, Dwayne Schintzius, Brian Shaw, Charles Smith of Georgetown and Charles Smith of Pittsburgh.

Earnest Killum, a Southland high school basketball star who was playing with Oregon State University, died Monday, three days after suffering his second stroke in six months. Killum suffered a massive stroke Friday shortly after concluding an interview in which he talked about a mild stroke he suffered in July. He was cleared on Dec. 27 to join the basketball team.

BARCELONA, Spain -- Not that we tread in some sort of fable with Pau Gasol's life story here, but you really should see the hospital where he joined the world on July 6, 1980, just seven weeks after Magic scored 42 at Philadelphia. Really now, how many hospitals do you know that look like some cross between Shangri-La and the Hotel del Coronado? How many caress the eyes with murals, mosaics, sculptures or the two soaring palms that tower out front at L'Hospital Sant Pau?

Four days before her death, Monica Quan had news for her team. Quan, an assistant coach at Cal State Fullerton, held up her hand to show off an engagement ring. The players screamed and huddled around her for a closer look, head coach Marcia Foster recalled. Quan was as happy as her basketball players, and later said she wished she had recorded the moment. She loved to have pictures taken with her friends. She wanted a big wedding, and her fiance, Keith Lawrence, a public safety officer at USC, was trying to work extra hours to make it possible.

Name; Pos.; Ht.; Wt.; Previous school; Comment Jordan Adams; SG; 6-5; 205; Mouth of Wilson (Va.) Oak Hill Academy; One of the top perimeter shooting prospects in the country should boost Bruins' three-point accuracy. Kyle Anderson; PG; 6-8; 215; Jersey City (N.J.) St. Anthony; A versatile talent who can play the one to the four but will probably utilize exceptional basketball IQ as starting point guard. *Larry Drew II; PG; 6-2; 180; North Carolina; Played two full seasons and part of a third for Tar Heels.

Michigan point guard Trey Burke, who helped the Wolverines reach the Final Four for the first time since 1993, and Miami's Jim Larranaga have been selected the Associated Press' player and coach of the year. Burke garnered 31 of 65 votes from the same media panel that selects the weekly top 25. He is the first Michigan player since Cazzie Russell in 1966 to win player of the year. The 6-foot sophomore averaged 19.2 points, 6.7 assists and 3.1 rebounds while often playing with four freshmen.

Police in Spokane, Wash., completed their investigation of a fight that occurred last month and have requested that two USC basketball players be charged with two counts each of second-degree assault, a police spokeswoman said. Neither police nor USC has named the players involved in the March 10 incident. USC suspended center James Blasczyk and forward Dewayne Dedmon indefinitely the day after the incident for violating team rules. The Spokane County prosecutor's office will make the final decision about whether to file charges, police spokeswoman Monique Cotton said in an email.

Rutgers basketball coach Mike Rice's job is in jeopardy after the release of a video that shows the coach using gay slurs, physically pushing and grabbing his players, and throwing balls at his Scarlet Knights team during practices. In the video obtained by ESPN , Rice can be seen repeatedly belittling and shoving his players. He is also observed targeting a player's head with a basketball and kicking another. Rutgers athletic director Tim Pernetti, who according to the Associated Press was first shown the video in late November, originally suspended the coach for three games, required he attend anger management classes and fined Rice $50,000.

If you had a serious case of the heebie-jeebies when University of Louisville sophomore guard Kevin Ware snapped his tibia on live television during the NCAA basketball tournament, you weren't alone. Teammates crumpled to the floor. Players on the nearby bench physically recoiled. Louisville Coach Rick Pitino says he nearly vomited at the sight of his player's bone jutting through the skin of his lower leg. Broadcasters stopped showing the break after a few replays. Their reaction may be rooted in evolution, genetics and upbringing.

SACRAMENTO - Aaron Gordon is supposed to be the best high school basketball player from Northern California since Jason Kidd. Stanley Johnson could be the best player in Coach Gary McKnight's 31-year coaching career at Santa Ana Mater Dei. They had the perfect setting Saturday night, the two squaring off in an NBA arena, each trying to win a third consecutive state championship. The 6-foot-7 Johnson scored 26 points and had 12 rebounds. The 6-8 Gordon scored 22 points and had 20 rebounds.

SALT LAKE CITY - I opened the drapes Thursday morning and saw snow everywhere. Was it a dream or was it really March 21? What year was it? Who was president?  I was in that foggy state of early-morning rising. Panicked I would miss Bode Miller in the Olympic super giant slalom, I searched for my parka and snow boots but incredibly forgot to pack any snow-related gear. What a dummy. There was a media shuttle bus outside the hotel, however, so I hopped on with a light jacket and told the driver to take me straight to Snowbird for the alpine events.

Player, School, Size, Year, Comment Jordan Bell, Long Beach Poly, 6-7, Senior. Oregon signee is prolific shot blocker Isaac Hamilton, St. John Bosco, 6-5, Senior. UTEP signee averaged 26.0 points Parker Jackson-Cartwright, Loyola, 5-9, Junior. Unselfish with great instincts Marcus Jackson, Pacific Hills, 6-3, Senior. Rice signee is three-point specialist Jordan McLaughlin, Etiwanda, 5-11, Junior. Athletic, explosive and plays defense Chance Murray, Price, 6-2, Senior.

March Madness does not officially begin until first-round games tip off this afternoon, but already we have a winner. The women. In what has become an annual -- and predictable -- result, the teams in the women's NCAA tournament outscore the men's postseason teams when it comes to classroom performance. The programs in the women's field graduate an average of 90% of their players compared with 70% for the men, according to a study released Tuesday by the Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sport at the University of Central Florida.

Police in Spokane, Wash., have identified at least two USC basketball players who were allegedly involved in fights in the downtown area last week, a police spokeswoman said Monday. Neither the police nor USC have released the players' names, but on March 11 interim coach Bob Cantu suspended center James Blasczyk and forward Dewayne Dedmon for violating teams rules. The fights took place in the early morning hours of March 10. USC played Washington State at Pullman, Wash., the night before and stayed in Spokane.