Columnist Ron Kantowski: On Jonathan Tavernari, the Brazilian youth ruled ineligible to play for Bishop Gorman High

Saturday, Dec. 10, 2005 | 8:33 a.m.

Ron Kantowski's column appears on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Reach him at ron@lasvegassun.com or (702) 259-4088.

There are only three givens in life: Death, taxes and feedback, if you state an opinion about Bishop Gorman High School.

My Thursday column on the Nevada Interscholastic Activities Association declaring Brazilian basketball player Jonathan Tavernari ineligible to play for the Gaels produced a lot of response from readers that was pretty much split down the middle.

Half thought Gorman was trying to pull a fast one.

Half thought Gorman was being unfairly targeted by jealous rivals.

I heard from bitter Gaels boosters, grateful boosters of everybody else, a couple of old friends and, I'm quite certain, one or two new enemies. But the most interesting person I heard from was Tavernari himself.

I wrote that, based on what I had read, he didn't seem a bad kid or one of these mercenaries in high-top sneakers who wind up playing at some basketball factory -- er, prep academy -- back East. He was portrayed as a good student and likable guy who seemed just as interested in experiencing America as he was in refining his crossover dribble.

After talking to him for about 20 minutes, I'm convinced all of that is true.

Speaking in a loud, animated voice, Tavernari, who hails from Sao Paulo, kept apologizing for his English, although there was no need to. As I told him, his English is a lot better than my Portuguese.

Besides, his frustration was coming through loud and clear. He seemed perplexed by a system that allows him to attend classes at Bishop Gorman, but not play basketball.

"I am being judged because I am 6-foot-6 ... and play basketball pretty good," he said, trying to come up with an analogy that an American sports writer could relate to. "If I was a 4-foot-11 guy from China who played soccer, this wouldn't be happening."

OK, so his analogies still need a little work. But I told him he was probably right. I also told him that rules are rules, and the NIAA is adamant that transfers moving into a new district are not eligible to play sports unless they are living with a parent or legal guardian.

"You think with what is going on in the world, they would have much more to worry about in Washington," Tavernari said.

Actually, I don't think the NIAA's influence extends quite that far. But I understand what he was getting at.

Tavernari also wanted to clear up his situation.

First, he said, he is in the United States on an F1 visa, which allows a foreign student to attend private school for one year, after which he must transfer to a public school or return home.

He said that since he is 18 years old (he'll be 19 next June) he is considered emancipated, or responsible for his own well-being. That is the technicality on which he hopes to obtain a court injunction that would allow him to play.

As for his relationship with Brigham Young University, Tavernari did not try to hide there is one after spending his junior year at Timpview High School in Provo, Utah, in the shadow of the BYU campus.

His uncle, Walter Roese, is a BYU assistant coach. Former Cougars star Rafael Araujo is his cousin. And if this matters to anybody, yes, he is Mormon.

Tavernari said he already has committed to BYU. The reason he doesn't appear on the Cougars' official signing list is because he hasn't decided if he will go on his church mission before starting his college career.

He said he only met Dave Rice, the former UNLV player who, in addition to being a BYU assistant, is also the brother of Gorman head coach Grant Rice, two days before he left for Las Vegas.

Tavernari is staying with the family of Steve Westmoreland, whose sons he met at a BYU basketball camp.

It is that relationship, and the friendships he has forged with his would-be coaches, teammates and classmates at Gorman, that will keep him in Las Vegas, he said, even if he can't play ball.

In closing, after Tavernari assured me that Brazil was a lock to win the 2006 World Cup, I asked if anybody told him or even hinted that his eligibility might be in question.

The answer, of course, was no.

So if nothing else, this particular boy from Brazil already has learned one valuable lesson about life in America: If you put blind faith in grown-ups, sometimes it winds up opening your eyes.