49ers Bring In Some Reinforcements

The season is winding down and the results are coming in quickly. But the big winners and losers won’t be known for one, two, three or even four years down the road.

That’s college recruiting.

The spring period (April 1 through May 15) is typically among the most important for college basketball programs. This is payoff time for weary coaches, who hope that countless trips and years of letter writing and phone calls to teenagers will enable them to keep paying their mortgages.

Recruiting is the lifeblood of college sports, and never has it been more important to the Long Beach State men’s basketball program. Coach Wayne Morgan had a rocky first season with a 13-14 record despite a talented, veteran team.

Moreover, Morgan had seven scholarships available because players either left the program with eligibility remaining or were dismissed, leaving some big holes to fill.

How did they do? Well, Morgan sure likes what he sees.

“I think this is a good class, a strong class,” Morgan said. “It improves us over where we were last year.”

But the only certainty in recruiting is that there are no certainties.

Long Beach’s spring class is large; six players who signed letters of intent. Long Beach also signed two players during the fall.

However, one 49er recruit likely won’t play next season. Several national recruiting evaluators said Jeff Howard, a 6-foot-10, 230-pound center/forward from Dallas, might not be academically eligible.

The other newest 49er recruits are guard Jermel Bradley (6-3 1/2, 205) of Foothill College; center/forward Derek Emery (6-10, 200) of Vista High; forward Jared Frey (6-5 1/2, 215) of Pasadena College; forward Marcus Gradney (6-7, 200) of Louisville (Ky.) Ballard High; and guard Charles O’Neal (6-2 1/2, 190) of Jacksonville (Fla.) Community College. During the fall, Long Beach signed guard David Egans (6-4, 175) of Inglewood High and center/forward Ian Milley (6-10, 230) of Mercersburg (Pa.) Academy.

That Long Beach signed any players during the spring is an accomplishment. Some coaches at other schools have used the upheaval at Long Beach to take potential recruits from the 49ers, a rival Big West Conference coach said. Lead assistant coach Clyde Vaughan, with help from assistant Tom Lewis, deserve much of the credit for the 49ers’ recruiting class, two Long Beach athletic administration sources said.

“Coach Vaughan is the main reason I signed [with Long Beach],” said O’Neal, who said he also was offered scholarships by Brigham Young, Alabama and Toledo. “I was waiting for a lot of coaches to talk to me about academics and the support I would get, and they never did. Coach Vaughan did.”

But how good are these guys?

“This is kind of a wait-and-see class,” said Clark Francis, editor and publisher of the Louisville-based HoopScoop recruiting newsletter and scouting service. “Are there a lot of players in this class [who] people were beating down doors to get to? Well, no.

“But the Big West is not the [Pacific 10] or [Western Athletic Conference]. We’re talking about a mid-level conference. So there may be a couple of gems in this class for a Long Beach State. This isn’t a great class, but I can see it being in the top 15 or 20.”

Other recruiting analysts are not similarly impressed.

They point out that Long Beach was unable to sign many of the recruits it coveted most, including Pepperdine-bound point guard Kevin Bradley of Los Angeles Crenshaw High, point guard Mike McDonald (Stanford) of Long Beach Poly and forward Travis Reed (UCLA) of Fontana Miller. McDonald’s father, Glenn, is a former 49er player and coach who is an athletic administrator at the school.

“We didn’t sign a lot of overpowering kids, but we’ve got good players at every position,” Morgan said. “We have a mix of good kids and good students, which is important to me.”

But Long Beach doesn’t appear to have signed players to replace James Cotton, his brother Schea and Greg Clark.

James, an all-conference guard, declared himself eligible for the NBA draft with a season of eligibility remaining. Schea, a standout forward at Bellflower St. John Bosco High, signed a letter of intent with Long Beach during the fall but was released from it after James announced he was leaving school. Schea has since orally committed to UCLA. And Clark, a talented freshman forward, also recently bolted Long Beach.

“Those are three great players you’re talking about,” Francis said. “Long Beach hasn’t signed anyone remotely close to them.”

In large part, this recruiting class will determine the program’s future, and likely that of Morgan and Athletic Director Bill Shumard. The impact of the class, like any, remains to be seen, and 49er fans will be watching. Closely.

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Closing in: The baseball team’s magic number is four.

Any combination of four Long Beach victories and Cal State Fullerton losses will give the 49ers the Big West’s South Division title. Long Beach (31-18, 20-4 in the Big West) has won four in a row and set a school single-season record for conference victories with six conference games to play.

All the games, beginning with a three-game series Saturday night against UC Santa Barbara, are at Blair Field. The Big West tournament begins May 15 at Blair Field.

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Coming Attractions

Here’s a look at key games this week for Long Beach State:

* Baseball against UC Santa Barbara at 7:05 p.m. today at Blair Field. This is the first game of a three-game series. Long Beach leads the Big West’s South Division by three games.

* Softball doubleheaders against UC Santa Barbara at 1 p.m. Saturday and Cal Poly San Luis Obispo at 1 p.m. Sunday on campus. Long Beach, tied for first with Cal State Northridge, will win the conference championship if it sweeps both doubleheaders.