Where Are They Now?: Schea Cotton

This "Where Are They Now" is a bit different than the ones you may be used to. We usually update you on past Pack players, but this last weekend we got to catch up with a guy who was committed to the Wolfpack but never actually put on the red and white. His name is Schea Cotton... sound familiar?

Schea was once the #1 prep prospect in the land. Standing at 6'5 and weighing in at 215 pounds with some ridiculous rise (42 inch vertical). Cotton was a sure bet, a 2-time Parade All-American with NBA superstar potential and a NC State commit. After a fabulous high school career Schea verballed to UCLA, but before he could get there, the NCAA invalidated his SAT test score. He then decided to go a different route. Cotton enrolled in St. Thomas More Academy in Oakdale, Conn. were he starred, catching the attention of the Wolfpack. He was supposed to turn the NC State program around, he was supposed to be Herb Sendek's first big time pickup and the one of the biggest gets in the class of '98. However, none of that ever happened.

Since late Summer 1998 there have been more questions than answers. Some say the NCAA disallowed Cotton's SAT score, others say NC State decided not to honor the scholarship, while many believe it was Cotton who decided to part ways. Well we finally have a few answers thanks to a stroke of luck.

At Pangos (Long Beach, CA) this past weekend, they put together a staff of coaches that knew the ropes of recruiting. A college coach, an NBA assistant, a NBA/European player, and a player who the system did not work for....Shea Cotton.

On Saturday, I got to catch up with Cotton to tell him that he's still on the minds of Wolfpack fans and to see what he's been up to. We let him know NC State fans still wonder about him and his story has become somewhat of an urban legend. He's still talked about as one of the best prep player people have ever seen.

" I love NC State fans. I do. It was really just a hard situation." said Cotton. " I wanted to be at NC State but the NCAA was coming down on me and was all over NC State for it. It was just better at the time to part ways."

"I still keep track of NC State. Even though I became a SEC guy, I always check up on the Wolfpack. North Carolina is a great place. Such big time college basketball, and NC State, they were just good people."

"You know it was a crazy time I mean, I just believe that if you just believe in God and trust in God, everything works out."

Schea, a native of Long Beach is still involved a great deal with basketball. He is working with Dino Trigonis who works mainly with high school players looking to be scouted and recruited by big time college programs. Before that he was playing in Italy, Shanghi, France and Serbia.

We'd like to thank Schea for taking time out to talk to us and for being so open and honest with us. He's a great guy and worked really hard to invest in the kids at Pangos. We also gave him our card to let him know that if he wants to keep up with NC State Basketball, this is the place to do it. He told us he'll be checking us out, so if you want to show Shea some love, feel free.