Sudanese basketball players declared eligible
By: Mary Davies
Updated: December 11, 2012
BLOOMINGTON-- Three athletes from Africa have been declared eligible to play high school basketball. But there is a catch.
The teens from Sudan were previously banned from playing at Mooseheart High School near Chicago. Today the IHSA met to decide on the case. It will let them play, but the school is now on probation. It was also barred from participating in the 2013 state basketball tournament.
The IHSA wants school officials to institute training and compliance measures to make sure the program stays in line with recruiting rules in the future. The school was also told to severe contact with a placement organization, African Hoop Opportunities Providing an Education or AHOPE. The organization contacted the school about allowing the teens to play.
The school maintains that it did not recruit the students. Attorneys for the district told the IHSA that the school had no contact with the boys until they arrived on campus. It also waited a full year before allowing them to compete.
All three teens played with the team in tonight's game.
The teens from Sudan were previously banned from playing at Mooseheart High School near Chicago. Today the IHSA met to decide on the case. It will let them play, but the school is now on probation. It was also barred from participating in the 2013 state basketball tournament.
The IHSA wants school officials to institute training and compliance measures to make sure the program stays in line with recruiting rules in the future. The school was also told to severe contact with a placement organization, African Hoop Opportunities Providing an Education or AHOPE. The organization contacted the school about allowing the teens to play.
The school maintains that it did not recruit the students. Attorneys for the district told the IHSA that the school had no contact with the boys until they arrived on campus. It also waited a full year before allowing them to compete.
All three teens played with the team in tonight's game.
