Bellarmine-Jefferson boys’ basketball coach on administrative leave

Bellarmine-Jefferson High boys’ basketball Coach Ray Witt confirmed Monday that he has been placed on paid administrative leave.

Witt, who was in his second season coaching the Guards, would not elaborate about the conditions of the action taken by the Bell-Jeff administration. The coach said he was removed from his position Friday. That same evening, the Guards were scheduled to play a Camino Real League game against St. Genevieve, but the game was postponed.

Bell-Jeff also scrapped a league contest Jan. 13 against La Salle. The Guards are scheduled to play Wednesday at home against St. Monica in another league game.

“I can say that I was put on paid administrative leave,” said Witt, a former NCAA Division I player and a 1989 Bell-Jeff graduate. “I can’t go into any specifics of the situation. But I can tell you that this is bigger than basketball. ...There is a lot more to this than what is on the surface and it’s all going to come out.”

Bell-Jeff Principal Michael Stumph said he couldn’t comment on the situation. Stumph did say the school is going forward with the season and the program.

“We have met with the basketball players and they want to continue the season,” Stumph said. “We are just trying to figure out the best way to move forward.”

Bell-Jeff, which had a number of international players on its roster this season, has struggled with low numbers since its two all-league players from last season, Paulius Kastackes and Tomas Butkus, left the school to play in the country of Georgia.

An anonymous source close to the Bell-Jeff program said the school is trying to recruit individuals from campus to supplement the basketball program. There was a meeting held Monday at the school to address the concerns surrounding the boys’ basketball program.

Bell-Jeff is 2-14 and winless in the two league games it has played. Maxpreps.com lists the games against La Salle and St. Genevieve as forfeits. The Guards have six more league games remaining.

In the 2015-16 season, Bell-Jeff went 4-14, 2-8 in league and didn’t qualify for the CIF Southern Section playoffs. That was one season removed from the 2014-15 campaign in which Bell-Jeff had a 25-6 record, won a league championship with a 10-0 mark and advanced to the Division V-A semifinals.

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Jeff Tully, jeff.tully@latimes.com

Twitter: @jefftsports