Calif. recruit in no hurry to sign

Steve Carp

Friday, Oct. 30, 1998 | 10:30 a.m.

Unlike many of his colleagues in the prep basketball world who are willing to sign early just to get the recruiting process over with, Jason Kapono says, "What's the rush?"

The talented 6-foot-7 senior swingman from Artesia High in Lakewood, Calif., has been one of the most sought-after players in the country. Yet he intends to keep the nation waiting until April when the spring signing period takes place.

Kapono said he wants to make absolutely sure he is comfortable with his choice. Thus, the long wait.

"It's a tough decision," he said Thursday as he began his official visit with UNLV. "I'm going to be somewhere for four years. I've got to make sure it's the right choice.

"Right now, no one's leading. Everything's even."

That means Bill Bayno's already skyrocketing phone bill will climb even higher, as will Rick Majerus' and Norm Stewart's and Jim Harrick's.

UNLV, along with Utah, Missouri and Rhode Island, are still in the hunt to land Kapono. He recently visted Rhode Island. Saturday, he leaves for Missouri. He will visit Utah in the coming weeks and there's a possibility that he may make North Carolina State or Syracuse his fifth visit.

Ultimately, his decision may lean more toward basketball than academics.

"You're going to get a good education wherever you go," he said. "For basketball, my goal is to get to the next level (the NBA) and I want to go somewhere where they'll prepare you for that."

Kapono said the other important criteria are the guys he'll be playing with as well as the coaches he'll be playing for.

"I want to see how the team plays," he said. "I'm interested in the team's chemistry. Do they have fun? Do they get along?"

After spending Thursday in the Thomas & Mack Center, Kapono gave UNLV high grades on his basketball checklist.

"I like the guys here," he said of the Rebels. "They play hard. Everyone seems to get along. They're friendly toward each other."

Kapono said he also liked Bayno's enthusiasm.

"I think he'd be a fun guy to play for," he said. "He's got a lot of energy."

Kapono's dad, Joe, along with Artesia coach Wayne Marino made the trip with him to Las Vegas.

Kapono is an excellent student and has scored close to 1,100 on his Scholastic Aptitude Test, well above the 840 required to be eligible.

"We're looking at the entire package," Joe Kapono said. "Certainly, academics are a big part of it. But the basketball side is very important. A lot of things go into it."

As for the recruiting routine, both father and son said they're used to it by now.

"I don't think there's anything that I haven't already heard," Jason said. "I'm just keeping an open mind on everything."

Joe Kapono said: "In the beginning, it was exciting. But it gets monotonous after a while, though making the trips is exciting.

"What's surprising to me is it doesn't get to him. He doesn't get a big head from all of the attention and talk about it. He doesn't think he's special from all of this. He just goes out and plays and has fun."

Dickel's back

Guard Mark Dickel apparently has recovered from his severely sprained right ankle. The 6-foot-1 junior returned to the practice floor Wednesday and took his regular turn Thursday during a two-hour workout at the Thomas & Mack.

Dickel, who missed a week of practice and did not play in Tuesday's Scarlet and Gray scrimmage, said his ankle was fine. But he still had a knot on his head after colliding with Kaspars Kambala's elbow in Wednesday's practice.

Issiah Epps still is nursing a pulled right groin muscle and has not practiced the last two days. He remains day-to-day.

Sobers at mike

UNLV great Ricky Sobers will be back involved with the program, this time as a broadcaster.

Sobers will work with Tony Cordasco for eight radio broadcasts on KXNT 840 AM when there are scheduling conflicts with television. Regular radio analyst Glen Gondrezick teams with Ken Korach for the TV games, thus creating an opening for Sobers, who had a long NBA career after a Hall-of-Fame career at UNLV from 1973-75.