Harrick Under Scrutiny

The sister of a prized UCLA basketball recruit purchased a car owned by Coach Jim Harrick two days after her brother committed to play for the Bruins, The Times has learned.

A black 1991 Chevy Blazer, with Harrick the registered owner, was sold to Lisa Hodoh, the older sister of Santa Monica Crossroads High senior Baron Davis, on Sept. 20, according to Department of Motor Vehicle records. This transaction is a possible NCAA violation.

UCLA Athletic Director Peter T. Dalis, who said he advised Harrick not to speak to Times’ reporters when confronted with the issue Monday afternoon, confirmed that the car was registered to Harrick, but said that Glenn Harrick, Jim’s son, sold the car to Hodoh.

In way of explanation, Dalis said the situation was as follows:

“I talked to Baron Davis’ sister this afternoon and she advised that she purchased Glenn Harrick’s car, which he was selling because he and his wife are expecting. [Hodoh] overheard in the basketball office that [Glenn] wanted to sell a car. She said, ‘I’m looking to buy a car.’ ”

Monday afternoon, before speaking with Dalis, Hodoh told a reporter that she bought the car for Davis at an auction. Davis has been seen driving it to high school.

Hodoh, who said she has been employed at the UCLA student union by Associated Students of UCLA since April, said that there was no way Jim Harrick’s name could be on the car’s DMV registration, “unless you guys did that.”

DMV records show that Jim Harrick purchased the car in December of 1990.

During this same interview, Hodoh denied buying it from Jim Harrick, and did not mention Glenn Harrick. She said she bought it from a woman, but was not sure of her name.

“I got it from a Michelle Chang, or Chissom,” she told The Times. “I’m trying to think. To my understanding, she was the previous owner. Her name was on the receipts.”

The Times asked to look at the sales receipts and Hodoh told the reporter to call her at home later. Frequent calls to her home went unanswered.

Dalis said he could explain the discrepancy between her original explanation and his, but added: “I am not prepared to.”

Dalis said Glenn Harrick sold the car to Hodoh. DMV procedures are that the registered owner must sign over the title when the car changes hands.

Dalis and Hodoh said the car was sold for $5,000, but the Kelley Blue Book lists the retail value of that model of the car, factoring out mileage, at $12,750, and a Southland used car dealer estimated the retail value at $16,000. DMV records showed the car had 112,960 miles the day she bought the car.

Dalis said that at his request, Hodoh showed receipts for eight money orders totaling $5,000 to a UCLA compliance official. When asked late Monday to produce copies of the receipts, a UCLA sports information department official said the receipts were inside a locked safe in Hodoh’s possession.

Though Dalis conceded that only Harrick could address some of the specifics, and that Harrick was prepared to be interviewed by The Times on Monday, Dalis said: “Coach Harrick reports to me. It was on my watch where these matters happened. It’s my responsibility to deal with it. That’s why I’m dealing with it.”

Dalis said he contacted Pacific 10 Conference officials after The Times raised the issue Monday.

“It may be a violation. I said part of it may be a violation,” Dalis said. “Whenever we find that kind of information, we take it very seriously, and I’ve contacted the Pac-10 offices this afternoon.”

According to Dalis, David Price, associate commissioner of the Pac-10, is traveling to UCLA on Wednesday to join an investigation that Dalis said had already been begun by UCLA. Dalis had no timetable for when the investigation might be complete.

The NCAA rulebook states that there can be no financial aid or other benefits to the recruit or the recruits’ relatives or friends by any “institution’s staff member or any representative of its athletics interests.”

When asked if Jim Harrick knew about the transaction, Dalis said: “He knew at some point.” When asked if he questioned Harrick whether the car was provided to Davis in return for his oral commitment, Dalis would not comment.

When asked when Harrick might be made available to address these questions, Dalis said, “He should answer them to the person he reports to, and not The L.A. Times.”

Dalis refused to say exactly when Hodoh overheard Glenn Harrick and inquired about the car. He also said he had spoken with Jim Harrick about Davis, “numerous times in the last four months,” but was not aware of the transaction, or potential problems, until Monday. Dalis said he had not spoken to Glenn Harrick about this matter.

Glenn Harrick, 27, is the youngest of Jim Harrick’s three sons and is employed by the new Fox Sports organization in Los Angeles. He could not be reached for comment Monday, and a phone call to Jim Harrick’s home was not returned. His phone was busy later in the evening.

Davis, a 6-foot-1 point guard, averaged 16.6 points a game last season and was the Southern Section Division IV player of the year, helping Crossroads win the Division 4-A title.

After the season, Davis was considered one of the top 30 players in the nation, but after a strong performance at the Nike Camp in July, he was rated the top prep point guard in the country and a top-10 prospect.

In addition to UCLA, he was considering Duke and Kansas, but canceled visits to both schools when he committed to the Bruins on Sept. 18.

Davis could not be reached for comment Monday.

Times staff writers Tim Kawakami, Steve Springer and Greg Sandoval contributed to this story.

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

The Transaction

DMV records show that the sister of UCLA basketball recruit Baron Davis purchased an automobile owned by Coach Jim Harrick two days after the guard committed to the Bruins. The transaction could violate NCAA rule 13.2.1.

DMV Report

License plate of car in question.: LIC/VIN: RN2ZHLS

Previous owner: R/O: HARRICK JAMES RICHARD

Current owner and date of registration. Lisa N. Hodoh is recruit Baron Davis’ sister.

Purchase/Application: 09/20/96