By RYAN ARENA

L’Observateur

RESERVE — The next stop for Riverside’s two highest profile recruits is no longer as clear as it’s been.

Rebels’ forward-center Ricardo Gathers has decommitted from St. John’s University in New York after committing in July.

Meanwhile, teammate Louis Dabney has not formally decommitted, but elected not to sign with Tulane on Wednesday, the first day of college basketball’s early signing period. Dabney committed to Tulane in the late summer.

Gathers has reopened his recruitment, but indicated that he doesn’t intend to sign with anyone until the spring, after the prep basketball season concludes.

“I would like to announce that although I had previously selected St. John’s University as the college I would attend through a verbal commitment, I have since decided to withdraw that commitment,” said Gathers through a statement. “I have recently realized that because the decision I make in choosing a university is one that will greatly impact my future, I must be 100 percent sure of the choice I make. I plan to devote time to analyzing all prospective scenarios and seriously considering how my decision will affect not only my basketball dreams and my education, but also considering how my decision will affect my family and those around me.

“I will be including St. John’s in my options and have by no means ruled that choice out. I would like to spend my last year of high school focused on team goals and then making a decision about college in the spring.”

Tulane, however, may not have lost their man: Riverside coach Timmy Byrd said that his belief is that Dabney will sign with the Green Wave before the early period concludes.

“He wants to be close to home, for his family to see him play,” said Byrd. “With Conference USA losing teams, I think he started questioning himself. But I think he’ll sign in the early period. The last that I talked with him … I think it’s where he wants to be. It’s a great academic institution and somewhere he feels he can go and have a chance to play immediately.”

Gathers earned honors as Louisiana’s “Mr. Basketball” last season as a junior, and has a chance to become only the second-ever two-time recipient of the award (Helen Cox alum and current Detroit Pistons’ star Greg Monroe was the first).

Gathers was the Class 2A Player of the Year in each of the last two seasons. He helped to lead Riverside to its second straight state championship, averaging 20.7 points, 16.2 rebounds and 3.9 blocked shots a game.

ESPN lists Gathers, a 6-foot-7, 240-pound playmaker, as the No. 30 prospect in the nation.

Riverside completed last season with a 33-6 record. Gathers has been named the MVP of the state championship game in three consecutive seasons, the first coming as part of Byrd’s 2008 championship team at Reserve Christian.

Byrd said that Gathers just wasn’t 100-percent comfortable with the decision to go to St. John’s, and as such will take a bit more time.

“He didn’t want to go if he wasn’t 100 percent both in his heart and in his head,” Byrd said. “So he’s not going to rush it. Right now, he wants to concentrate on the high school season.”

Byrd said that Gathers had talked about the choice to decommit for a few weeks before pulling the trigger.

“I just want him to make the right decision for himself and to be really sure,” Byrd said.

Dabney, a 6-foot-3 guard known for his all-around game, averaged 18 points per game last season, and like Gathers has been a key part of three state champions already in his career.

A versatile two-way player, Dabney’s built his reputation on tenacious defensive play and a versatile offensive game that allows him to play both guard positions, drive to the basket successfully, and shoot with improving range.