Prince dethroned by SAT

By Melissa AndersonSummer Bruin Staff

UCLA basketball will have to look for another heir to the throne
next season, since freshman recruit Tommie Prince had his SAT
scores invalidated last week and will not play for the Bruins.

Hailed one of the top recruits in the area last year, the
6-foot-5-inch guard/forward signed his now-void letter of intent
late because of difficulties reaching a passing score on the
entrance exam. Prince finally passed the test in May.

An analysis of those test scores by university officials led the
UCLA athletic department to ask the Educational Testing Service to
investigate a discrepancy in the results.

Under NCAA legislation known as Proposition 48, UCLA could have
admitted Prince regardless of his test scores because he completed
all of his college preparatory classwork at Compton Dominguez High
School.

Prince would have had to miss the 1995-96 season and would not
qualify for financial aid until he was eligible to play basketball.
However, it is against UCLA¹s policy to accept Proposition 48
athletes.

Prince was offered a chance to retake the exam, which the Los
Angeles Times reported he did Aug. 11 at Compton College. According
to Diane Prince, Tommie¹s mother, he needed to answer just one
more question correctly to meet the NCAA standard.

"We¹re very disappointed about losing Tommie," UCLA head
coach Jim Harrick told the L.A. Times. "Any time you go all year
recruiting a player and you lose them ­ especially when you
plan on having them ­ it’s tough.

"On the other hand, every person is responsible for their own
academic work."

A two-time Nike All-American and the L.A. Times prep Player of
the Year, Prince led Dominguez to a CIF Championship while
averaging 21 points per game. As only the third player in school
history to play varsity basketball four years running, it was
expected that Prince would make a strong impact for the Bruins in
the next four years.

Prince, who was unavailable for comment but reportedly denied
that he had cheated on the exam, will now have the option to play
basketball at a junior college or a Division I university that will
accept athletes under Proposition 48.

Should he decide to play at the junior college level, Prince
would be eligible to play at UCLA, or any other Division I school,
in two years – after earning an associate¹s degree.

Prince dethroned by SAT

Promising freshman basketball recruit’s test scores invalid,
won’t attend UCLA