CONTRACT OR CAMPUS? DOMINGUEZ 7-FOOTER HAS TALL DECISION.

Byline: Vincent Bonsignore Staff Writer

Late at night, when the world quiets down and finally lets 7-foot Compton Dominguez High center Tyson Chandler be, he'll lie in bed, close his eyes and begin the process all over again.

That's when Chandler asks himself the same question everyone asks him. From the clerk at the grocery store to the ball boy at his game. Will he skip college and go to the NBA?

First, Chandler thinks about the NBA and all the fame and money that awaits him. Chandler is only a high school senior, but if he elects to bypass college and jump straight to the NBA, he'll be a certain lottery pick this June.

That means riches beyond his wildest dreams and a chance to play with and against guys he has worshiped since he was a kid. It's fairy-tale stuff promised only to the chosen few, of which Chandler is one.

Who can resist that?

Then Chandler thinks about going to college and all the fun he'll have if he does, the lifelong friends he'll make and playing basketball for the name on his jersey rather than the rich guy who signs his contract. The money will always be there, he tells himself, why not wait a little longer?

Over and over the thoughts race around Chandler's head, night after night after night. And then he falls asleep, only to wake up the next morning just as confused as he was the night before.

Sometime soon, Chandler will have to make a decision, but he promises to use every possible second to decide.

``It's going to come down to how I feel at the last minute, and if I feel I'm ready for that type of commitment and dedication,'' Chandler said Monday at Loyola Marymount University at the seventh-annual Martin Luther King College Prep Review Dream Classic, where Dominguez lost to Clovis West 65-61. ``I'll talk to my parents, but it's something that's going to have to come from within myself.''

The smart money is on Chandler saying thanks but no thanks to UCLA or Arizona, choosing instead to fatten his bank account with one of those multimillion-dollar contracts the NBA loves to hand out.

It's an enviable and difficult position to be in. The lure of money stacked up against doing what's prudent.

Set aside the fact Chandler is an enormously gifted 7-foot, 223-pound package of basketball talent, cut from the same cloth as Kevin Garrnet with those long arms, a slender body and the ability to block shots, dominate inside or step out to the perimeter and sink 3-pointers.

Dominguez lost to Clovis West, but it wasn't Chandler's fault. Despite playing with guards who seemed to forget he was on the floor, Chandler scored 17 points, had 15 rebounds and 11 blocked shots. This season, he's averaging 21 points and 15 rebounds.

Forget the fact that when Chandler runs the floor in transition, he looks like a 7-foot Carl Lewis. He might be the fastest guy on his team and you can already picture him running the wing alongside someone like Jason Kidd.

Even with all that going for him, Chandler is just a kid and probably not yet ready for the grown-up world of the NBA. His body needs to mature and fill out. He's strong enough to overpower high school players, but what happens when Shaquille O'Neal decides to throw his gigantic 330-pound body his way?

Then again, $10 million can buy the best physical trainer in the world.

But is that what he should do?

``A lot of these young men (thinking about going straight to the NBA) are looking at it for the enjoyment or the egotistical means of it,'' said former Lakers star Michael Cooper, who was at LMU on Monday. ``It's like, 'If I can do it (in high school), I can do it in the NBA.'

``But what the young men don't understand is that a lot of these pros are playing to feed their family, so it's not like you're just going to come in and use your athletic ability. You go up against a Karl Malone and he's going to use all the tricks of the trade to beat you, and they aren't ready for that.''

Cooper likes Chandler's ability and predicts he'll play in the NBA. He just hopes it's not next year.

``I would advise him to stay all four years in college or maybe after a year or two, depending on how fast he fills out, decide what he wants to do,'' Cooper said. ``Right now, I don't think he's ready.

``I know there's a 50-50 chance he can get hurt in college, but if playing in the NBA is meant to be for him, it'll be.''

Chandler has heard both sides of the argument more times than he can count. He knows about a success like Kobe Bryant, but he also knows about a shattered dream like Korleone Young's. But he doesn't dwell on either.

``I'm Tyson Chandler, I'm not Kobe or Jermaine O'Neal or Garnett or anyone else,'' Chandler said. ``So I can't really compare myself to any of them. I just have to compare myself to me and know what I can do.''

Chandler, who's played on three Southern Section championship teams, two state champions and a national champion, can do a lot. He just doesn't know whether to take all he has to college or the NBA.

No matter where he winds up, he'll be a target just as he's been since the moment he stepped foot on the Dominguez campus.

``It's something I'm used to; I mean I have an X on my chest every time I step out, on the court and off,'' Chandler said. ``It's something you have to deal with whether it's in the NBA or college.''

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Photo: Compton Dominguez 7-footer Tyson Chandler is weighing his options about whether to enter college or the NBA.

John Kennedy/Staff Photographer