Outlook Is Bleak for Cotton’s Chances at UCLA

As Fall Quarter classes march on and the UCLA basketball team tries to recover from the indefinite suspensions of two key players, the attorney for would-be recruit Schea Cotton--now a potential starter--conceded Wednesday that the clock is quickly ticking down on Cotton’s chances of enrolling at UCLA.

Stuart M. Rice, Cotton’s attorney, said he has received no reply to a letter he sent the NCAA last week, seeking an immediate reversal of the organization’s decision to declare Cotton academically ineligible.

“They don’t seem to really have any consideration for the timetable of students whose lives they’re affecting, such as Schea’s,” Rice said.

Classes at UCLA began Sept. 18. Rice said Cotton, who cannot enroll unless he meets eligibility requirements, has not been attending classes, even though he is allowed to unofficially. If there is no quick resolution, Rice acknowledged, too many class days will have passed for Cotton to catch up.

Rice said Cotton’s family is hoping for a reply from the NCAA by the end of this week, and if there is no reply or the request is rejected, the family will have to reassess the situation.

Bob Oliver, the NCAA’s director of membership services, would not comment on the Cotton matter.

Because the NCAA has invalidated each of Cotton’s three SAT scores, Rice said that, pending a reversal, Cotton cannot play at any four-year school, even a school that accepts non-qualifiers.

Times staff writer Greg Sandoval contributed to this story.