Basketball Again Appears at Top of Titus’ Priority List

Nevada Las Vegas center Tracy Titus wants it made clear up front that she wasn’t an “airhead party animal,” she explained. Rather, Titus simply was a kid who needed to grow up but lacked a reason to start.

OK, done.

But Titus, a Times’ player of the year at Loara High, admitted her immaturity cost her. She still might be on a path to nowhere if it hadn’t been for one thing: sitting on the bench is no fun.

The impetus to change having finally arrived after three seasons as a Rebel scrub, Titus and UNLV today benefit from her transformation.

This season, Titus (6 feet 2) is the inside force the Rebel coaches envisioned when they recruited her. She has team-leading averages of 7.6 rebounds and 2.3 blocks for the defending Big West Conference champions. Her 13.9 scoring average is second on the team.

Titus was named the Big West player of the week (Nov. 28) after averaging 19 points, 11 rebounds and 5.5 blocked shots in two games. What’s more, UNLV played in two early-season tournaments and Titus was selected all-tournament in each.

And to think it almost didn’t happen.

“I wasn’t focused,” said Titus, a senior. “Basketball wasn’t my top priority.”

Well, why not?

“Ah, I was kind of involved in other things,” she said.

Susan Titus elaborated on her daughter’s interests.

“When you’re on your own for the first time and have your own apartment, you enjoy the freedom,” she said.

Titus enjoyed her independence so much that her commitment to basketball waned, something she didn’t think possible.

She was dedicated to the sport in high school. As a senior at Loara in 1991, Titus averaged 25.5 points, 16.4 rebounds and broke the county single-game scoring record with 61 points against Los Alamitos.

“In high school, you always have people telling you what to do and staying after you to get it done,” Titus said. “It’s not like that in college. In college, you either get yourself focused or you sit on the bench.”

Titus decided to change after her junior season. The two players ahead of her on the UNLV depth chart graduated last season, and Titus figured this was her opportunity to impress--if she got her act together.

“I really worked out a lot last summer,” she said. “I was sick of wasting my talent. I was sick of sitting on the bench.”

Titus also was encouraged by her growing role last season. She played substantially for the first time and averaged 8.4 points and 4.5 rebounds. She figured she had a shot to start as a senior.

“Before last season, I only used to play if we were winning by 20 or down by 20,” she said. “I started playing like I did in high school last season.”

Las Vegas Coach Jim Bolla noticed the changes.

“She played very well last year and was probably the most improved player we had on the team,” Bolla said. “She has the uncanny knack for going on scoring binges and blocking shots.”

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Add Rebels: Titus is one of three former county standouts helping UNLV.

Sophomore point guard Angie White (Capistrano Valley High) is seventh in the Big West in assists, averaging 4.8. She is the Rebels’ third-leading scorer at 12 points per game.

Junior forward LeAnn Kazmer (Orange Coast College) is the team’s second-leading rebounder (5.8) and fourth-leading scorer (11.6 points). Despite their large contributions, UNLV needs more help: The Rebels are 3-9, 2-3 in the Big West.

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Another record: Redlands senior center Leslie Ferguson recently broke the school single-game scoring record she co-owned.

Ferguson (La Habra High) scored 35 points Jan. 7 in an 82-53 victory over Southwestern of Texas. The previous record was 31.

She also holds school records for most rebounds in a game with 25 and most in a season with 840. She is second on the all-time scoring list with 1,261 points.

Ferguson tops the team in scoring (20.9 points) and rebounding (15).

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The shooter: Sophomore guard Justin McIntee (Newport Harbor High) is one of the leading scorers for Biola, an NAIA Division I school in La Mirada.

McIntee averages 17 points. He makes 54% of his field-goal attempts--including 42% of his three-point shots--and 72% of his free-throw attempts.

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Postseason honor: Middle linebacker Jeff Pease has been selected to an All-American team.

Pease, a senior at Northern Colorado, was selected to the Little All-American third team. Pease attended Mission Viejo High and Saddleback College.

Keeping Track is a regular column in The Times following the progress of former Orange County athletes competing for colleges elsewhere.