The ineligible use of a basketball player from a Jackson-area school could have prematurely affected Tylertown’s basketball resurgence this past season.
The Mississippi High School Activities Association ruled last week that Raymond High School in Hinds County played the 2011-12 season with an ineligible player.
Don Hinton, MHSAA’s executive director, confirmed to the Enterprise-Journal that a residency issue led to the ruling. Hinton said one of Raymond’s players lived in another school district but still played at Raymond.
The MHSAA sent a memo last week to all of its member schools, informing them of the school’s punishment. The memo stated “Raymond must forfeit all contests the young man participated in during the 2011-2012 season.”
The memo also stated Raymond basketball coach Willie Neal “was aware of the situation.” The school will be fined $500 for the use of the ineligible player, according to the memo.
The MHSAA did not identify the player, and it did not list the games in which he played. There’s not yet an official ruling on which games Raymond will forfeit.
However, a source familiar with the situation speculated it was one of Raymond’s main contributors.
Raymond finished the season 25-6 and beat Tylertown, 70-55, in the Class 4A South State tournament quarterfinals. Raymond lost its next game to Bay High.
“It’s an unfortunate incident that Raymond played an ineligible player, but we have to move forward from there,” Hinton said. “When these things happen, we take the appropriate action and that’s what we’ve done.”
Hinton said he first learned about a possible ineligible player in late March via an anonymous tip. The MHSAA moved quickly and made a ruling within a few days, Hinton said.
Raymond won both the District 6-4A regular and postseason championships. Depending on what games the ineligible player competed in, Raymond would forfeit those two titles.
The regular and postseason season district championship would go to Port Gibson, who finished 11-2 in the league. Raymond beat Port Gibson, 60-49, in the district championship game.
Raymond will also be on probation for the 2012-13 season, according to the memo. If any violation occurs during the probationary period, Raymond would face a postseason playoff ban next season.
Hinds County School District Superintendent Stephen Handley declined to comment on additional details Tuesday afternoon but did give a brief statement.
“It’s very unfortunate for our students and we will make every effort to ensure this never happens again,” Handley said.
Hinds County School District Athletic Director Eddie Pickle declined comment when reached Tuesday.
Handley said it will be Pickle’s job to determine how many games the ineligible player competed in, then report back to the MHSAA in order to vacate the wins.
Multiple calls to Raymond principal Benjamin Torrey were not returned.
Meanwhile, officials at Tylertown were happy the situation was rectified, but couldn’t help speculating how it affected their season.
“Our kids were denied the chance to play in Jackson because of a team playing an illegal player,” Tylertown athletic director Jason Johnson said.
Tylertown had a breakout season under the direction of first-year coach Jeremy Harrell, the son of longtime McComb basketball coach Hilton Harrell.
The Chiefs finished 19-10 and lost in the District 7-4A championship game to Columbia on a buzzer-beater.
“Without a question, Raymond had a good ball club,” Harrell said. “We worked very hard and to get that close to the Big House. At this point, there is nothing you can do about the unfair play, but the seniors on our team will never get that chance again.”
Tylertown won its opening game of the 4A South State tournament before losing to Raymond. As Harrell said, Tylertown wouldn’t have been a shoe-in to win if Raymond didn’t use the ineligible player. Johnson, however, admitted the entire makeup could have changed.
“That was no guarantee that we would have made it to Jackson,” Johnson said. “It may have meant we would have been playing a different team, maybe. It could have been a totally different team involved.”
Johnson said Raymond’s breach of integrity goes directly against the philosophy of high school athletics, which preaches teamwork, leadership and “to do the right thing.”
“We’re probably one of several teams that feel dejected about it but like I say, it’s one of those things that’s over with,” Johnson said. “It’s bad but hopefully we can learn from it and move on and hope that this being an example to other folks, to don’t do it. You are going to get caught.”
