HIGH SCHOOL BASKETBALL STARS GO CAMPING : RECRUITING SEASON GETS INTO HIGH GEAR.

Byline: Kathy Orton Daily News Staff Writer

For hard-core high school basketball fans, there is no better month to discover the future college - and possible NBA - stars than July.

Want to know who the next Kobe Bryant - the high school player drafted by Charlotte and traded to the Lakers - will be? Or if the player who is considering UCLA can actually make a jump shot? Here's your chance.

It is also an opportunity to check out two top local players considered among the best big men in the nation, Jason and Jarron Collins of Harvard-Westlake High School, and see how they stack up against the competition.

Officially, the summer recruiting period kicked off July 1, the first day coaches could contact seniors-to-be by phone. But on Monday the recruiting season really heated up. That was the first day coaches could be in the gyms evaluating players.

Most high-level Division I coaches or their assistants are making their first stops on the recruiting trail at either Indianapolis, Ind., or Teaneck, N.J. - the sites of the Nike-American Camp and the Adidas ABCD Camp, respectively. The best high school players from across the nation are at one of the two camps. The Collins twins are attending NikeThere are also several outstanding tournaments within driving distance that feature top players.

The Superstar Camp at UC Irvine began Sunday and runs through Thursday. Many of the top West Coast players not attending the national camps can be found there.

Arguably the best summer basketball tournament in Southern California is the Slam-N-Jam Los Angeles NIT held July 14-19 at Cal State Long Beach, West Torrance and South Torrance high schools. Nearly 70 teams, including New York City's Riverside Church and the Long Island Panthers, are expected.

The first of the Pump brothers' West Coast All-Star camps at Cal State Dominguez Hills began Monday and runs through Thursday. The second camp is July 12-15. The Pump-N-Run Best of the Summer Classic at Long Beach City College is July 25-29.

Two young Bell-Jeff players, Ruben Douglas and Kent Dennis, will be participating in the Five Star Camp July 28 in Kansas.

There are several top players from Southern California to keep an eye on at tournaments and camps.

The Collins twins return from Nike camp and immediately join their high school team at the Fairfax-Goodman Summer Basketball Classic (July 11-14 at Fairfax High). Then it's on to the Slam-N-Jam tournament, where they will play for the ARC-Mid Valley team. The twins finish July at the Las Vegas Grande Finale.

Jarron and Jason are primarily considering five schools (in alphabetical order): Arizona, Duke, Kansas, Stanford and UCLA. They also list Pepperdine, Texas and Virginia as possibilities. UCLA coach Jim Harrick and Arizona coach Lute Olson were among those speaking by phone with the twins last week.

Chris Burgess of Woodbridge High in Irvine is considered by several recruiting publications as the top big man in the country. The 6-foot-10, 235-pound forward is playing on the Southern California All-Stars team this summer. His top choices include: Duke, North Carolina, UCLA, Arizona, Kansas and Utah.

Schea Cotton of St. John Bosco is finally a senior. One of the most hyped high school players in Southern California, he has decided to pick and choose which camps and tournaments in which to play. Catching him in action might be tough. Indications are that he will follow Bryant and apply for the NBA draft next spring.

Other players to watch are Kenny Brunner of Dominguez, Baron Davis of Crossroads, Kevin Augustine of Mater Dei, Erron Maxey of Lake Elsinore, Jeff Trepagnier of Compton and Eric Chenowith of Villa Park.

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Photo: Harvard Westlake's Jason, left, and Jarron Collins a re at the Nike camp.

Daily News File Photo