San Francisco (Calif.) Riordan's Jorge Camacho wish is to get a college scholarship. The 6-foot-7, 230 pound post player is leading the powerful West Catholic Athletic League in points and rebounds, averaging 22 and 12, respectively. The WCAL, of course, also includes Archbishop Mitty, Sacred Heart Cathedral, and St. Ignatius, all whom are Northern California powerhouses. Camacho is one of the most skilled, and one of the best passing big men in the region. So what's the deal with his recruitment right now?

Well, first, let's get some background. Camacho knew practically nothing about basketball six years ago. Growing up in Hermosillo, Sonora, Mexico, he shunned the ever popular sport of soccer and became a baseball player. Baseball was his passion from a very young age up until seventh grade. That's when his P.E. teacher pulled him aside and told him that, because of his height, perhaps he should try this other sport...basketball.

Camacho fell in love with the sport. For the last six years, basketball has been his passion and he has never looked back. He moved to the United States while in high school, and has been playing basketball ever since. That was four years ago, also marking the time when he first really began learning the English language. And he has succeeded at that as well. I know because I conducted my interview with him in English. I thought about conducting the interview in Spanish, since I speak decent Spanish. But he speaks better English.

Many colleges are interested in Camacho. Those include Denver, Weber State, Eastern Kentucky, Cal State Fullerton, UC Davis, Loyola of Maryland, UC Santa Barbara, Cal State Northridge, and Northern Arizona. And yet, with all that, his club coach for the Bay Area Hoosiers, Phil Doherty, said that Camacho's recruitment is "at a standstill." Riordan coach Rich Buckner agrees in that his recruitment is "not going for him right now."

Part of the problem is likely that Camacho has not officially qualified academically to play division I basketball yet, and that an injury stalled things over the summer. Coach Doherty explained it this way. "Jorge has a ways to go in terms of his SAT. Since English is not his first language, the verbal and reasoning is difficult for him (on the SAT). Also, he was hurt most of July during the evaluation period."

Whichever program ends up getting Camacho should be happy with his skills. "Jorge is a skilled 4-man, if you want to be specific," said Doherty. "He can shoot it, he can pass it, he has a good ability to get the basketball off the glass. He's not overly athletic but he does have long arms. He is extremely coordinated. I would be hard-pressed to find another kid who is as skilled."

Doherty believes Camacho's recruitment will pick up, but he's got to qualify first. It will probably be the middle of summer before something were to happen.

Coach Buckner enjoys Camacho's personality. "He's funny, he has a sense of humor, and sense of sarcasm. He's very witty," Buckner said.

Buckner also loves Camacho's game. "He's one of the best passers, if not the best passer, on our team. He's strong, he can almost box kids out with his forearm. He gets double-teamed, opens up, looks opposite, finds cutters with bounce passes."

Buckner believes Camacho definitely has a place in college. "He's a prototypical 4-man. He could play at a lower-level Pac-10 school, and he could play at all WCC schools," said the coach.

Jorge just loves to play. "I just try to be me. To dominate, play hard," he said.

There are three conferences in particular that Camacho enjoys watching and would love to play in. "I like the Pac-10, the WCC, and the ACC. I like them because they play hard, smart, good basketball," said Camacho.

Although his English is better than decent, there were a couple points during the interview when I could tell Camacho was struggling to find the right words. Luckily, my wife speaks Spanish. She talked with Camacho at length.

He said to her, "When it comes to basketball, the language barrier is the most difficult. But there's good chemistry between me and Coach Buckner. My wish would be to get a college scholarship. And, if it's in God's hands, I could someday play in the NBA."

He explained to her the difference between basketball that he experienced in Mexico and basketball in the U.S., "In the U.S., there are more practices, more focus on your game, more conditioning, and you play harder."

Camacho concluded the interview by saying in English, "It doesn't matter where I play in college. I just want to play basketball."