Due to disputes over his entrance examination scores with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), his college basketball career was delayed for two years.
[3] After his family moved from San Pedro, California in 1990 due to concerns with gangs, he enrolled at St. Irenaeus Catholic School in Cypress.
[4][5] At age 12 and in the sixth grade, he stood 6 feet (1.8 m) and 180 pounds (82 kg) and was captain on a team which included seventh- and eighth-graders.
Citing a desire to play with teammates from his summer team, he transferred mid-season to Mater Dei High School in Santa Ana, where many of them attended.
"[17] In his sophomore year, Cotton averaged 24 points and 10 rebounds, leading Mater Dei to a 36–1 record and a state championship, their third in 13 seasons.
[18] Cotton also became the first and only sophomore to be named Cal-Hi Sports Division I State Player of the Year,[9] and was honored nationally as a fourth-team Parade All-American.
However, his brother, James, announced in 1997 that he would be leaving the school early and declaring for the NBA draft, prompting Cotton to request and receive a release from his letter of intent.
[21] Although Kevin Garnett triggered a second generation of NBA high school draftees in 1995, followed by Kobe Bryant and Jermaine O'Neal a year later, college remained the predominant choice at the time for top prep players.
[10] In April 1997, he committed to play at UCLA, where he was expected to team with fellow incoming freshman Baron Davis, another top recruit from Los Angeles, who signed days later.
[6] Earlier, the NCAA had investigated a Ford sport-utility vehicle driven by Cotton, which they suspected was provided to him as an incentive to sign with UCLA.
[28] Blocked from attending UCLA, Cotton enrolled at St. Thomas More, a prep school in Connecticut where players had gone to enhance their academic profile and play in a competitive environment.
[13] After being declared eligible by the NCAA, Cotton earned a scholarship to play college ball at the University of Alabama.
[31] Although the team struggled, Cotton averaged a team-leading 15.5 points and 4.6 rebounds per game,[2][6] and he earned second-team all-conference honors in the Southeastern Conference (SEC).
Later that summer, Cotton was drafted fourth overall by the Anaheim Roadrunners of the American Basketball Association (ABA), but the team was unable to secure the Honda Center (known then as Arrowhead Pond) as its home arena, and he never played for them.
[13] He was also drafted by the Sioux Falls Skyforce of the Continental Basketball Association (CBA), but he was their last cut in training camp after not having shot well.
[13] Cotton remained confident that he could play in the NBA, buoyed by the knowledge that past opponents that he had either outplayed or held his own against had eventually made it in the league.
[13] In November 2007, he was selected by the Tulsa 66ers in the ninth round of the 2007 NBA Development League Draft,[36] but he was waived a couple of weeks later.
[34] After retiring from playing, Cotton became a basketball trainer with his own academy, as well as a coach in the Los Angeles area for Millikan High School and Belmont Shore in AAU.
[6][10] In 2016, he premiered his documentary, Manchild: The Schea Cotton Story, which covers his rise as a high school sensation and the letdown of not reaching the NBA.
[41][42][43] Entering high school, Cotton's physical maturity provided him the size, speed, and power to dominate his opponents.
[6][44] "He is a kid in a man's body," said Toby Bailey, who faced a freshman Cotton in the Southern Section Division I-A semifinals in 1994.