SUMMER BASKETBALL : Fremont’s Tommie Davis a Hot Property

The recruiting letters come every day. The phone started ringing July 1 and hasn’t stopped. Fremont High’s 5-foot-8 point guard Tommie Davis is definitely a hot prospect.

Despite the fact he has to raise his hand to touch six feet, Davis is a desirable recruit among major colleges because of his quickness, strength and ball handling. He can race past a full-court press and penetrate the best of zone defenses. He also has a good jump shot for a college-level player.

Although the demand for power forwards remains high, no Division I recruiter wants to face a season without a floor general to run his offense.

“He has a couple intangibles that you don’t find in some players,” Fremont Assistant Coach Keith Young said. “He plays with a lot of heart and a toughness.

“Point guards are in such high demand because they are an extension of the coach,” Young said. “They run the offense and keep the players focused throughout the game.”

Davis is considered one of the top point guards on the West Coast.

Joel Francisco of the Long Beach-based Southern California’s Finest basketball scouting service ranked Davis as the No. 10 prospect in the area in its pre-summer report.

Davis said he receives weekly phone calls from Arizona, Arizona State, California and USC in the Pacific 10 conference. Other schools that have contacted him are Boston College, Houston, Providence, Tennessee, Kansas State, Pittsburgh, Miami, Cal State Long Beach, University of San Diego, San Diego State and Santa Clara.

Davis said his dream is to play for Syracuse, where former Crenshaw High star Stephen Thompson played.

Davis’ stock went up last week when he received his score on the Scholastic Aptitude Test. One of the prerequisites to get an athletic scholarship is at least a 700 on the SAT. Davis, who has a 3.6 grade-point average, scored 860.

Davis began the summer competing with UCLA’s Charles O’Bannon, Gardner and J.R. Henderson of Bakersfield East High for the California team in the Boston Shootout. The team won the consolation championship. Davis also attended the Nike Camp in Indianapolis and played for Young’s Team L.A. last week in the Las Vegas Invitational.

Davis said he has not decided which campuses he will visit, but plans to sign during the November early-signing period.

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Signing--Marlon Taylor, a 6-2 guard, received a scholarship to play at Grand Canyon, a Division II school in Phoenix. Taylor, who starred at Washington High, averaged 10 points, four rebounds and two assists a game as a freshman at Los Angeles City College.

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Where are they now?--Shooting guard Craig Slaughter is one of nine incoming freshmen who will play for L.A. City College this year. Also joining the Huskies are Washington 6-5 forward Stacey Thomas, Locke 6-1 guard Derrick Higgins, Fremont 5-10 guard Leslie Bean, Locke 6-1 guard Glenn Lyles, South Gate 6-6 forward Saipele Tuiaili, Dorsey 6-6 forward Tarryl Franklin, and Lincoln 6-5 forward R.C. Cantrell.

Other area players who will play at community colleges next season include:

* Davy Fortson (Dorsey, 6-2, guard) and Rickey Brown (Fremont, 6-2, guard), who are headed for Santa Monica.

* Rico Laurie (Crenshaw, 6-4, guard), who is going to Oxnard.

* Miguel Villegas (South Gate, 6-4, guard), who will play at Fresno City.

* Eric Wright (South Gate, 6-2, guard), who will play at Harbor College in Wilmington.

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Summer tournaments: Manual Arts High was in Palm Springs Friday and Saturday trying to win the Bill Armstrong Invitational Tournament for the fourth consecutive time.

The Toilers have two outstanding prospects in swingman David Rickenbacker and guard Darwin Carter, who competed for Team Converse in the Slam-N-Jam at Cal State Long Beach.

Manual Arts beat tournament host Pasadena Muir, 72-69, during the first week of July.