December 5th, 2012
By Bill Sloat |
Sports |
Court Overturns Ban on Walnut Hills Basketball Player
Surprise state athletic association ruling made prep basketball phenom ineligible on Nov. 29
A
Hamilton County judge ordered the Ohio State High School Athletic
Association to back off a last-minute decision that blocked Walnut Hills
senior Dontonio Wingfield Jr. from playing basketball this season. Walnut Hills is the top-ranked large high school program in Southwest Ohio this year. Judge
Robert Ruehlmann said the OHSAA previously ruled Wingfield eligible
under school transfer guidelines and should not have suddenly reversed
course at the last minute. He described the Nov. 29 decision as a total change that came out of the blue.
“I granted a restraining order that said he can play, and now there is agreement he can play,” Ruehlmann told CityBeat on Tuesday after an emergency hearing on the dispute. “He is eligible and we’re done. The OHSAA has worked things out with his attorneys. It is over. He is playing.”
Wingfield is the son of former University of Cincinnati Bearcats star Dontonio Wingfield, who left the university for the NBA after a single season. Wingfield Jr. is considered a the top prep shooting guard in Ohio this year. He has verbally committed to attend Ohio University in Athens.
OHSAA officials, who in August told Walnut Hills there was no problem with Wingfield’s eligibility, notified the school by email last week that he used up his transfer options when he moved from Summit Country Day to Lockland High School. His lawyer, Terence R. Coates, said there has been some inadvertent paperwork errors involving transfer rules.
“Dontonio planned to attend a four-year college and felt the academic regiment at Walnut Hills wouild best prepare him for being successful in college. His transfer was not motivated by athletics,’’ Coates said. He called the OHSAA ruling that made Dontonio ineligible “arbitrary, capricious and unreasonable."
Meanwhile, the hearing on another student athlete, Winton Woods female guard Alexxus M. Paige, was delayed until Dec. 7 on procedural issues. Judge Ruehlmann said there is a likelihood the case might be settled by having Paige return to Withrow High School to finish her senior season this year. She had transferred to Winton Woods because of family issues. OHSAA ruled her ineligible for a year.
“I granted a restraining order that said he can play, and now there is agreement he can play,” Ruehlmann told CityBeat on Tuesday after an emergency hearing on the dispute. “He is eligible and we’re done. The OHSAA has worked things out with his attorneys. It is over. He is playing.”
Wingfield is the son of former University of Cincinnati Bearcats star Dontonio Wingfield, who left the university for the NBA after a single season. Wingfield Jr. is considered a the top prep shooting guard in Ohio this year. He has verbally committed to attend Ohio University in Athens.
OHSAA officials, who in August told Walnut Hills there was no problem with Wingfield’s eligibility, notified the school by email last week that he used up his transfer options when he moved from Summit Country Day to Lockland High School. His lawyer, Terence R. Coates, said there has been some inadvertent paperwork errors involving transfer rules.
“Dontonio planned to attend a four-year college and felt the academic regiment at Walnut Hills wouild best prepare him for being successful in college. His transfer was not motivated by athletics,’’ Coates said. He called the OHSAA ruling that made Dontonio ineligible “arbitrary, capricious and unreasonable."
Meanwhile, the hearing on another student athlete, Winton Woods female guard Alexxus M. Paige, was delayed until Dec. 7 on procedural issues. Judge Ruehlmann said there is a likelihood the case might be settled by having Paige return to Withrow High School to finish her senior season this year. She had transferred to Winton Woods because of family issues. OHSAA ruled her ineligible for a year.
