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SoCalHoops High School & Prep News

Ruben Douglas Named
Local Paper's Athlete Of The Year--(July 1, 1998)

We saw Bell-Jeff coach Eli Essa yesterday at the Providence summer league games, where Bell-Jeff's No. 1 team defeated a fine Milken varsity squad, and then dropped a second game to Buckley's II team, and Eli didn't let on about the award which the Burbank Leader, a local paper (actually owned and printed by the LA Times) was giving to Ruben Douglas (6'-5" Fr. G) --we listed him as a fresham because that's what he'll be at the University of Arizona next year. Ruben was named the "Athlete of the Year" by the local paper, and today's edition printed a very nice story about Ruben, written by staff writer Jim Riggio. Rather than try to dissect it, here it is:

"Ruben Douglas couldn't have imagined the amount of success he would enjoy at Bellarmine-Jefferson High upon enrolling as a freshman almost five years ago. Bound for the University of Arizona, Douglas was even uncertain if he would excel on the high school basketball court. "Coming out of the eighth grade, I was good, but nobody knew about me," said the 6-foot-5, 180-pound Douglas. "My freshman year, I just wanted to make the varsity. I just kept playing with good talent and I'm just living out my dream to play basketball as far as I can."

"As it turns out, Douglas had nothing to worry about. Douglas' game continued to improve, leading up to his breakthrough senior season last year that has earned Douglas the Burbank Leader's male athlete of the year honors. Last season, Douglas almost singlehandedy took the Guards into the CIF Southern Section Division IV-A semifinals before they lost to Serra High, 90-61.

"In addition to being named the CIF Southern Section Division IV player of the year, Douglas led the state in scoring with a 34.6 per game average. He finished with 1,073 points -- fifth best in state history -- and a four-year career total of 2,578 points -- ninth best in state history. "I just wanted to take our team as far as we could go," said Douglas, who helped the Guards to the CIF quarterfinals as a junior in 1997. "They needed some leadership, so I was the one that did the scoring."

"Now that his high school days are done, Douglas is looking forward to the challenge of playing at a higher level. He is confident he can do well for the Wildcats, who have one of the elite programs in the nation. "There is a lot of pressure and attention," he said. "You have to stay within yourself and not be somebody you're not."

"Having made huge strides every year of his high school career, Douglas said much of the credit goes to his parents, Roger and Johnnie, who have never missed one of his games. "They're the main reason why I got a scholarship," Douglas said. "They've raised me well and told me to be myself. They sent me to the private school that made me turn things around. Whether it's been Vegas or New Jersey, they've been there." While Douglas said he doesn't believe his parents will be at every one of his collegiate games, he said they won't be far from the action. "If he can't make it, he'll try to get it on Direct TV," Douglas said of his father. "He's trying to see if he can get a connection to Arizona."