When it came time to select the area's best high school basketball players for the annual Senior All-Star games, three names were among those recommended by coaches.
San Diego guard Patrick McCollom.
Escondido guard Peter Smith.
Bonita Vista post Jamesha Townsend.
“They had great seasons, so we put them on the team,” said El Camino coach Ray Johnson, who was part of the boys committee that recommended including McCollom and Smith.
But when rosters were announced by the San Diego Section, the three names were missing, sparking a good deal of curiosity among those who follow the sport.
According to Commissioner Dennis Ackerman, he holds final say on which players are invited to participate in the event. The games benefit the section's transportation fund, which helps schools with travel costs during local and state playoffs.
“There were reasons they weren't on there,” Ackerman said. “I'll leave it at that.”
Each of the three seniors had athletic eligibility cases come before the section this school year.
Arriving from Washington before the start of the season, McCollom was cleared to play. His eligibility was scrutinized a second time during the season, but he remained eligible, leading San Diego to its first section title in more than 30 years with a 17.6 scoring average.
Reached yesterday afternoon, San Diego High Principal Scott Giusti had not yet heard the news about McCollom.
“I'm shocked and extremely disappointed,” he said. “The key component of this team was Patrick, without a doubt. He was what was missing from San Diego High School. He was it. He's outstanding in every way, on and off the court. We don't make the playoffs if Patrick is not a part of our squad.”
After repeating part of his freshman year following his father's death, Smith was considered a fifth-year senior and not eligible. The section was asked to reconsider and he was cleared to play the second semester, amounting to eight regular-season games plus the playoffs. He averaged 30.6 points in 10 games.
After transferring from La Jolla Country Day to Bonita Vista, Townsend was declared ineligible and was denied in her attempt to change that ruling by the California Interscholastic Federation Appeal Panel.
Bonita Vista took the unusual step of including Townsend on its roster in the section championship program anyway. The Barons also honored the 6-foot-2 University of Arkansas recruit with a postgame introduction and team runner-up award following last week's title game at Cox Arena.
“It's our all-star game and we review it every year,” Ackerman said. “We review it and make sure everybody's met the criteria, eligibility and everything with that.”
The commissioner acknowledged that McCollom and Smith are eligible.
“There were still some other things we had to review,” said Ackerman, who declined to elaborate. “They just were not selected for the all-star game.”
The third annual game is to be played March 21. A site has not been announced. (All-star rosters are listed below.)
Nicole Vargas: (619) 293-1390; nicole.vargas@uniontrib.com
