SUMMER PRO LEAGUE: HOMEGROWN BATISTE IS HOPEFUL.

Byline: Joe Stevens Staff Writer

LONG BEACH - On Mike Batiste's left forearm is an unmistakably local tattoo. In bold, black letters, it reads: ``L.B.''

Batiste is a 1995 graduate of Long Beach Wilson High, where he starred until he went to Arizona State. Since leaving ASU in 1999, he's played professionally overseas. For the past two weeks, he has been at Long Beach State, playing in the Summer Pro League with the Clippers.

Although Batiste has traveled around the world and has earned many basketball accolades, he remains grounded and close to his hometown.

``My mom moved to L.A. when I went to Arizona State, but I still have ties to Long Beach,'' Batiste said. ``I still keep my ear to the street to see what's going on.''

The Clippers have a roster filled with players under contract, but Batiste keeps a positive attitude, trying to impress the front office and coaches to land a spot.

``Hopefully, I can contribute, impress everyone in the organization and make the Clippers,'' he said. ``If I stay here, everybody from Long Beach will be coming to Staples Center with me.''

Next to the NBA, the Italian leagues are considered the most lucrative for players. The 6-foot-8 power forward played near Milan this season for a team called Acqua Laurentana Biella. If he doesn't make the Clippers, he could use Italy as a backup plan.

Batiste said he loved Italy's food and got used to the country's different culture. He saw other Americans have difficulty adjusting to the culture but said he adjusted fine. One thing that helped was a trip to a local tattoo parlor for the enormous ``L.B.'' body ink on his arm.

``You have to stay close to home, and being so far away, I wanted to have something that reminded me of home,'' Batiste said.

--Battle of the guards: An individual battle ensued during the final minute of the NBA Pros' 135-119 victory over the ABA Surf on Thursday.

It was a battle of an NBA player vs. an NBA hopeful.

Representing NBA players was Damon Jones, a 6-foot-3 guard who has played the past four seasons in the league. Representing the hopefuls was Mike Johnson, who played for North Dakota of the CBA and recently signed with the Surf.

Johnson won - even if it were for just a minute. He made two consecutive jump shots over Jones, then drove past him on the baseline for a layup. Jones missed all three of his jump shots.

``We were talking trash and the crowd got into it,'' Johnson said. ``... It was just one of those things. If he came back hard at me, I'd go hard at him.''

Johnson finished with a game-high 37 points, and Jones had 29 points.

--Jones talks great game: Jones has played some SPL games with the Clippers but said he is a free agent and ``open to all 29 teams.''

After playing four season in the NBA and this past season with the Detroit Pistons, he said he has no worries about landing somewhere.