Pruitt leaves View Park Prep’s basketball team

This article was originally on a blog post platform and may be missing photos, graphics or links. See About archive blog posts.

Jason Pruitt, an All-City guard last season as a junior at Los Angeles View Park Prep, has left the school after its administrators told him that, for ‘philosophical reasons,’ he wouldn’t be allowed to play basketball while also enrolled in independent study courses, according to Coach James Wilkes, pictured left.

Wilkes said Pruitt would have been eligible by City Section and state rules, but adminstrators at the charter school didn’t want to open up the issue of independent study options.

Pruitt led View Park in scoring last season, averaging 26.9 points in helping the team win the City Section small schools basketball championship and finish runner-up in state Division IV.

Pruitt, the younger brother of Boston Celtics guard Gabe Pruitt, would have to move to gain immediate eligibility at another school, with Los Angeles Fremont a possible destination.

-- Eric Sondheimer

-- Image by Gary Friedman/Los Angeles Times