Columnist Ron Kantowski: Here’s a sure thing: Don’t trust recruit rankings

Thursday, March 18, 1999 | 10:35 a.m.

Ron Kantowski's notes column appears Tuesday and Thursday. Reach him at ron@lasvegassun.com or 259-4088.

The next time you read a story in the newspaper or on the Internet that says State U. or Disco Tech had the best recruiting class in the Big Cheese Conference, clip it or download it and put it somewhere for safe keeping.

Then four years from now -- when those recruits have finished their careers or are redshirt seniors -- pull it out for review.

That's really the only way to determine how well a school did in the recruiting wars.

Sorry Bob Gibbons and Blue Chip Magazine. Or anybody else with a pocket protector, a pair of high-tops and so much free time that they can tell you the scoring average of the "2" guard at St. Rita Moreno High and recite the SAT scores of the entire front line at Andy Granatelli Vocational.

Your recruiting rankings are little more than guesswork. For anybody who doesn't think otherwise, I've got a copy of Sports Illustrated with Clint Hurdle's picture on the cover.

But judging recruits isn't rocket science if you do it after the fact. Let's take Bill Bayno's first UNLV recruiting class of 1995-96, which consisted of six junior college transfers and three freshmen, for instance.

* Eddie Corbett, 6-foot-8 forward: "Eddie is a big body that can bang and score inside," Bayno said at the time. Turns out he was 33 percent right. Eddie did have a big body. He played one year and quit.

* Chancellor Davis, 5-foot-8 guard: "We need a point guard, and Chancellor fills that role for us," Bayno said. That he did, but not very well. He also played one year and quit.

* Kevin James, 5-foot-11 guard: "Kevin is tough and he will provide some strength and minutes at the guard position," Bayno said. Right on both counts. James got the most out of his limited skills and was a nice role player. But he could have been an impact player at a Big Sky school.

* Tony Lane, 6-foot-7 forward: "He is a great low post scorer and is a great rebounder and an explosive jumper," Bayno said, overstating things just a tad. Lane had two serviceable seasons.

* Grant Rice, 6-foot-4 guard. Bayno had little to say about Rice in the media guide. And Rice had little to do as a Rebel bench-warmer.

* Warren Rosegreen, 6-foot-5 forward: "He is relentless on the glass and attacks opponents on both ends of the court," Bayno said. Amen to that. Rosegreen busted his butt more often than a rodeo cowboy. Still my all-time favorite Rebel for his work ethic.

* Norris Bell, 6-foot-6 forward. Never heard of him.

* Reed Berglund, 6-foot-2 guard. Never heard of him.

* Ben Sanders, 6-foot-4 guard. Wound up being a decent player -- at San Jose State.

Thanks to Rosegreen and Lane, let's say Bayno was 2-for-8 with this group. Granted, he had a late start after being named Rollie Massimino's successor. But I wouldn't call his first recruiting class a good one.

That's easy to say now. Four years ago, it would have been impossible to predict.

Unfortunately, that never stops the prep gurus from trying.

* FAIRLESS LEADER: The worst-kept secret in town will be divulged today when Rodger Fairless is named head coach of the Community College of Southern Nevada's fledgling baseball program.

Fairless, who guided Green Valley High to six consecutive state titles before seeking this new challenge, is expected to stock his roster with many of his former Gator players. Combine that pipeline with Fairless' knowledge of the game, and it shouldn't be long before CCSN becomes a force on the diamond.

And his adversaries will tell you that his prowess as a recruiter also will serve him well at CCSN. That many of the city's best ballplayers tended to wind up at Green Valley was a source of irritation to many of Fairless' colleagues.

* AROUND THE HORN: It wasn't that long ago that John Calipari and Billy Bayno were the toast of the town, having coached and recruited UMass' once moribund program into the NCAA Final Four. Now, Calipari is just toast (having been fired by the New Jersey Nets this week) and Bayno is being toast-ed for UNLV's mounting losses and player defections amid an NCAA inquiry. ... Local media who had a difficult relationship with former Las Vegas Motor Speedway chief Richie Clyne must have taken special satisfaction in watching the recent Las Vegas 400 from what used to Clyne's personal suite on the start-finish line. It since has been converted into a press box with all the amenities. ... Rancho High's Mike Johnson scored just two points on 1-for-8 shooting in Oklahoma's 61-60 upset of Arizona in the NCAA Tournament but earned kudos from the ESPN radio crew for steadying the Sooner attack from his point guard position in a 85-72 win over UNC-Charlotte on Sunday. ... While shooting the curl with the remote control Tuesday, I stumbled upon the Tommy Hearns-Pipino Cuevas welterweight title fight replay on ESPN Classic. The referee was Stanley Christodoulou, so it's good to know that at least one of three Holyfield-Lewis judges had been exposed to the fight game prior to last Saturday. Christodoulou was the lone judge that had Lewis winning.