Beck’s addition may give Rebels a Top 20 class

Steve Guiremand

Wednesday, May 14, 2003 | 8:55 a.m.

Signed, sealed and finally delivered.

UNLV received a faxed letter of intenet from junior college forward Romel Beck of Los Angeles City College last week. But the school hasn't officially announced the signing of Beck, a 6-foot-7 forward, because his actual letter of intent wasn't properly completed.

After several days of shipping the letter back and forth via overnight mail, UNLV is expected to officially announce Beck's signing today.

"He can score, he can shoot and he's made himself a complete player," LACC coach Mike Miller said of Beck, who helped lead the Cubs to the California state junior college championship.

"He's been compared to Reggie Miller by some scouts I talked to because of his shooting. But he's also a fine defender and a good teammate. He also averaged four assists per game."

Beck averaged 15 points and five rebounds per game at LACC. He picked the Rebels over Wyoming, Fresno State, Alabama and Auburn.

"I think he'll have the same kind of impact in the Mountain West Conference as another kid who played here, Randy Holcomb," Miller said.

Beck is the fifth member of Charlie Spoonhour's recruiting class, which also includes 6-foot-10 center Chris Adams of San Francisco City College, 6-foot-6 swingman Andy Hannan of Minneapolis, 6-foot-2 guard Michael Umeh of Missouri City, Texas, and 6-foot-3 point guard John Winston of Hercules, Calif. And although NCAA rules allow a school to award no more than five scholarships in a year, he might not be the last signee.

Beck's LACC teammate, 5-foot-10 point guard Jerel Blassingame, also could sign with the Rebels by Thursday.

Blassingame would get the scholarship that was ticketed to Winston, who has yet to meet NCAA minimum freshman eligibility requirements and may have to attend junior college. Spoonhour was to meet with Winston today in the Bay Area.

If Blassingame does sign with UNLV, it would cap what figures to be a Top 20 national recruiting class.

"UCLA called and offered him recently, so that should tell you how good he is," Miller said. "Pitt, Gonzaga and San Francisco are also recruiting him. He's one of six players on our team who is going to get a Division I scholarship."