On paper, UNLV class derailed

Friday, May 27, 2005 | 9:20 a.m.

For a stretch, it appeared that second-year UNLV coach Lon Kruger and his staff had assembled the foundation of a recruiting class that would rank among the top 20 in the country.

However, that was only on paper. Apparently, anyone with a hint of knowledge about Davon Jefferson's poor academic history and habits knew, without a shadow of doubt, that he would not meet minimum academic standards for eligibility.

The spring signing period ended last Wednesday. The recruiting publication Hoop Scoop rated Jefferson, Wendell White and Gaston Essengue among the top 16 early-signing trios in the nation.

A 6-foot-7 forward from Lynwood (Calif.) High, in the Los Angeles area, Jefferson now heads to a prep school to shore up his standing in the classroom.

"There was no one, who was familiar with the situation, who thought he would be eligible," said Southern California scribe and renowned national recruiting guru Frank Burlison. "Nobody I knew of thought he would be eligible."

Jefferson discovered he had few options from collegiate suitors and committed to UNLV during his official visit.

Credit Kruger for giving the kid a chance, we think. Insiders say Jefferson made some progress in his second semester, so it might not have been such a Giacomo longshot to think that Jefferson might qualify at UNLV.

Perhaps Kruger knew he was only getting an edge on the future. After a year of prep work, maybe UNLV will have the edge on getting Jefferson next year?

If not, there was some wasted time in pursuing Jefferson.

In any case, wise UNLV fans know the only rankings that matter occur during the season.

One recruiting service listed Adams, a 6-1 guard from Houston Gulf Shores Academy, as the No. 25 schoolboy prospect in the land.

"He's super fast," Burlison said. "A scorer, like Baron Davis, with very good range. Not a true point guard though."

White, a 6-6, 215-pound forward who ended up at Antelope Valley Community College in California out of high school in Manhattan Beach, earned junior college first-team mention in Street & Smith's college hoops yearbook last fall.

Burlison said Joe Darger, a 6-7 forward from Riverton (Utah) High to whom former Utah coach Rick Majerus once made a scholarship offer, mostly plays on the perimeter, shoots well and "is solid."

Former Cimarron-Memorial guard Jason Petrimoulx rounds out Kruger's second class after playing at Dixie State in St. George, Utah.

Kruger has two available scholarships, which gives him leeway if a transfer, a la a Ricky Morgan, were to materialize.

In 1994, Warriors was replaced by Golden Eagles after protests that the former was an insulting stereotype to Native Americans.

In a shock of stupidity, university trustees recently switched the nickname from Golden Eagles to Gold, which didn't last a week. Now, the Marquette nickname issue remains in the news.

Warriors is not among the list of 10 suggestions for a new nickname.

Dr. Dave Makil, who covers Vegas as one of the area's preeminent kidney doctors, is uniquely qualified to comment on the topic as a member of the Pima tribe in the Phoenix area and an avid sports fan.

"My position has always been, if they treat the symbol -- in all aspects of the name -- with respect, I personally don't have a specific problem with it," Makil said. "In some aspects, the 'Warrior' nickname is non-specific."

Oklahoma coach Kelvin Sampson, a Native American, said at the Final Four in St. Louis that he was a fan of the Atlanta Braves and Chief Nokahoma, the team's former headdress-wearing mascot who cheered from a teepee, in his youth.

"I didn't see anything wrong with him," Sampson told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. "But now those things have become a problem. People ... are sensitive to those issues. I've always sided with a person.

"If people are sensitive to something and it causes a problem, then I think it's something that should be looked at."

Lines are crossed, according to Makil, in relation to mascots or logos, such as the Cleveland Indians' caps or the helmets of the Washington Redskins.

"I think symbols are OK," said Makil, an Arizona State undergraduate who studied medicine at Dartmouth. "Mascots, that's where people tend to misbehave. As with any article of religion or nationality, in the hands of people ... they screw it up.

"That's the one problem I always see with it. The bearer of the information in the symbol, oftentimes that's where there's the most trouble. That's where the issue regarding mascots and symbols goes most astray."

The Chippewa, Iroquois, Kickapoo and Menominee are among at least two dozen tribes that have called Wisconsin home.

Makil suggested that Indian-related nicknames don't have to become extinct, with proper guidance and respect, on the issue. Gaining input from people like Makil and Sampson, via a committee or panel, would be a start.

The 6-7 Webster has been projected among the top 15 picks in the June draft. By signing with an agent, he loses his college eligibility.

All of a sudden, playing Louisville for a spot in the Elite Eight -- which the Huskies lost to the Cardinals in Albuquerque two months ago -- seems like a high point in Seattle.