High school basketball: Top prospect withdraws from Clay
DeMarcus Cousins, one of the nation's top prep basketball prospects in the Class of 2009, withdrew from Clay-Chalkville High School last week, Cougars Athletics Director Brent Smith confirmed Thursday.
The Alabama High School Athletic Association also announced recently that Clay-Chalkville was fined $900 and placed on one year of probation for violating the association's recruitment rule during DeMarcus Cousins' transfer to the school from Erwin High School in August.
DeMarcus Cousins, Christian Watford and Josh Pritchett were each ruled ineligible for this season in mid-September after the AHSAA deemed their transfer to Clay-Chalkville was improper. Watford, who is also one of the top prospects in the Class of 2009, moved in from Hewitt-Trussville and Pritchett transferred from Ramsay.
In September, an attorney for Clay-Chalkville basketball coach Robi Coker said the AHSAA was investigating whether Coker recruited the students. Coker did not do so, the attorney said.
Smith said that "as far as he knew" DeMarcus Cousins was in good standing at Clay-Chalkville when he withdrew from the school. Efforts to reach a member of the DeMarcus Cousins family were unsuccessful.
DeMarcus Cousins, a 6-foot-9, 234-pound junior, is ranked as the nation's No. 2 center in the Class of 2009 by several scouting services. Scout.com ranks him as the No. 4 overall prospect in the class.
Other AHSAA violations were also announced recently:
Hoover High School was fined $500 and placed on one year of probation for playing two ineligible players in a junior varsity football game. One student was ineligible under the AHSAA's transfer rule. One was ineligible under its academics rule.
Simmons Middle School in Hoover was $150 and placed on one year of probation for using academically ineligible players.
Huffman High School was fined $1,000 and placed on one year of probation after playing three ineligible players during interscholastic contests in the 2006-07 school year.
Jackson-Olin High School was fined $500 and placed on one year of probation after a basketball game against Wenonah was stopped for a second time because of an altercation between fans.
The AHSAA reversed its decision to levy a fine against Calera High School for the late reporting of a football playoff score. The fine was removed because of the lateness of the game.
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