Crenshaw Transfers’ Eligibility Questioned : Prep basketball: Four of nine transfers on State champion’s roster were not living full-time at listed addresses.

Nine transfers.

It was a number Willie West seldom was allowed to forget this season, even after his Crenshaw High boys’ basketball team won the State championship.

“It’s been in the paper since Day 1 (of the season),” West said of the transfers. “At the end of the day, when we got those kids together and we won a championship, you want to investigate? Why bring it up now?”

The State championship only escalated finger-pointing from rival coaches, fans and parents who claimed that Crenshaw wasn’t playing fair. Many complained. Few would publicly put their names to the accusations.

Some of the complaints had merit. A Times investigation has shown that four of the nine transfers were not living full-time at the addresses listed on the school’s eligibility roster. At least one of the four was living outside the Crenshaw school district. School officials said they verified the addresses during the season.

According to City Section and California Interscholastic Federation rules, a school can be stripped of its City Section and State titles because of inaccurate addresses, a violation of residence eligibility requirements. Two of the athletes with inaccurate addresses could lose one year of eligibility. The other two would not lose eligibility because they already are seniors this year.

In addition, The Times has learned that Crenshaw volunteer assistant coaches had significant contact with some of the transfers before they attended Crenshaw. City Section and CIF rules prohibit personal contact with students before they move into the area and enroll.

There is no evidence connecting West, who has won an unprecedented five State titles at Crenshaw, to any of the irregularities.

“I haven’t done anything wrong, I run a clean program,” said West, his voice cracking and tears running down his cheeks at the end of a three-hour interview.

So is the program clean, as West says, or guilty of the kind of recruiting many coaches claim goes on at every school but their own?

Can a school be expected to enforce rules that might be impractical to apply in a district where officials acknowledge there is much transiency?

Were Crenshaw officials looking the other way, or were they merely a victim of the school’s tradition of success?

Accusations come easier than answers.

THE TRANSFERS

Ninety-six players showed up at the Crenshaw gymnasium two weeks after the start of the current school year to try out for the varsity and junior varsity basketball teams.

It was a large number, but there was only one returning varsity player--junior center Leon Watson--from a 1991-92 team that finished 19-5, losing to Westchester, 87-81, in the City 4-A final.

“Kids aren’t dumb,” West said. “Word gets out that there is an opportunity to play basketball, and kids will find a way to get there.”

Among those finding the way were Reggie McFerren, who played last season at Gardena Serra, Ronnie Arch (from Westchester), Rico Laurie (Westchester), Calvin Valrie (Hamilton), Kristaan Johnson (Van Nuys Montclair Prep), Tremaine Fowlkes (Culver City), Keith Davis (Los Angeles Center for Enriched Studies), Marvel Lacy II (University) and Maurice Robinson (Westchester).

There was also Kenneth Jackson, who transferred from Gardena, made the Crenshaw team and then transferred to Santa Monica St. Monica.

To enroll at Crenshaw, and other schools in the L.A. Unified School District, a student must be accompanied by an adult and show a rental receipt or utility bill as proof of residency. Students may attend schools outside their residential area if they have a special permit or show a desire to take special courses through the district’s Magnet program. However, all but one of Crenshaw’s transfers this season were admitted based on residency, school officials said. Fowlkes had a special permit.

When word about the number of transfers got to Hal Harkness, the City Section commissioner, before the season, he called Crenshaw officials and told them to make sure all transfer information was accurate.

That job belonged to Moss Benmosche, Crenshaw’s athletic director, who said everything checked out.

“We call the home and ask if the student lives there,” Benmosche said. “We did everything we were supposed to do. It is not incumbent upon us to make home visitations.”

The athletes’ residence eligibility is based on information from a roster each school submits to the City Section before the playoffs. Only one roster per team is submitted each season. On Feb. 16, Crenshaw sent its eligibility list, with home addresses of the players, to the City Section office. The document was signed by West, Benmosche and Greg Lee, assistant principal in charge of athletics.

THE LIVING ARRANGEMENTS

Visits by The Times to each of the addresses found that four of the transfers were not living where the eligibility forms said they were.

The situations:

--Ronnie Arch is listed at his grandparents’ address in the Crenshaw district as his primary residence when he enrolled last year. His mother, Janet Arch, has recently moved to that address.

But Janet Arch said her son has been living with his father, Ronnie Arch Sr., who lives in the Dorsey High district. Ronnie Arch Sr., also said his son lived with him.

--Reggie McFerren is listed at an address that is the home of James Raymond Speakner, who is not related to the family. Speakner said McFerren used to live with him but could not remember when or for how long. He said McFerren is living with his parents. But McFerren’s mother, Saundra McFerren, who lives in the Locke High district, said Reggie lived with his father, Reginald Sr., and brother Dean McFerren, at an address within the Crenshaw district.

Dean McFerren said only he and his brother lived at the Crenshaw address. Reginald Sr. would not talk to The Times.

--Rico Laurie is listed at an address that is the home of Roberta Bearclaw. At first, Bearclaw denied even knowing Laurie. However, the next day she said Laurie lived with her. Bearclaw would not answer questions as to her relationship with Laurie.

--Calvin Valrie is listed at an address that is the home of Catherine Davis, his stepmother. Davis initially said Valrie was living with his mother and, “just checks in with me.”

Two days later, Davis said Valrie lived with her part-time and with his mother part-time. She did not know the name or address of his mother.

Of the four, only McFerren was a regular starter.

The other transfers lived at the addresses listed on the eligibility roster.

Benmosche, Crenshaw’s athletic director, said it is not unusual for people to be less than forthcoming with strangers.

Said Lee, Crenshaw’s assistant principal: “None of the addresses the players gave us are 7-Elevens or empty parking lots. Families are moving more because of financial reasons. The people who live at those addresses know the players. There was no intent to cheat.”

RECRUITING

Crenshaw officials say the team doesn’t need to recruit. It has the drawing power of West’s reputation and has won 12 City Section and five State titles, more than any other school.

But traditional powers are often prime targets for charges of recruiting, whether or not there is evidence of wrongdoing.

The accusations stem not only from opponents’ frustration but from the fact that, unlike football, it takes only a couple of players to turn a program around.

In the early 1980s, Santa Ana Mater Dei was dogged by such accusations as it became a State power. At the center of the storm was an assistant coach who was also the coach of a traveling all-star team. But Mater Dei, with an unlimited residence base because it is a private school, was not found guilty of any infractions when it was investigated by the CIF Southern Section.

Still, the possibility for abuse has been recognized. The City Section has a rule that says a coach cannot contact a student who does not reside in that coach’s attendance area.

West says he makes a point of staying clear of situations that could be viewed as suspicious. But questions have been raised about his assistants.

Before this season, Maurice Duckett, a 12-year assistant at Crenshaw, worked out with McFerren when McFerren was enrolled at Serra.

Dwan Hurt, basketball coach at Serra, said he told McFerren’s father that he was concerned about what Duckett was teaching McFerren. Hurt said it eventually led to a confrontation between the coach and parent. McFerren later left Serra for Crenshaw.

Duckett did not return The Times’ calls.

Also making significant contact with players outside the Crenshaw area was Edmond (Tiny) Flournoy, a first-year Crenshaw assistant. Flournoy also coaches a youth team, the K&E; Bulls, that is made up of junior-high students. Among those who have played for Flournoy are Arch and Laurie.

Flournoy says he doesn’t try to influence players to attend a certain high school but does acknowledge coaching players that are not in the Crenshaw district.

“The rule (improper contact) has been on the books for 20 years, and they’re just now deciding to use it against me,” Flournoy said.

Harkness recently sent a memo to all schools reminding them that coaches--even voluntary or walk-ons--cannot be associated with these types of junior all-star teams.

Lee, the Crenshaw assistant principal, has trouble with the rule.

“Someone has to explain to me what’s wrong with a volunteer coach having a chance to make money in another job,” Lee said. “Or we have to be willing to start paying for other coaches. . . .

“If this were about someone getting shoes or promised playing time, I could understand, but there is none of that.”

THE ENFORCERS

Hal Harkness, 54, is no stranger to the L.A. Unified School District. He went to Eagle Rock High, and coached and taught at several City schools. He also was a track and cross-country coach at UCLA during the 1980s.

Now, he is in his seventh year as commissioner of the City Section, whose only school district is L.A. Unified.

In April, he announced his retirement and will leave office Oct. 1.

During his tenure, he has seen his department shrink from five to three--himself and two secretaries.

It makes enforcement of the rules next to impossible. Nonetheless, he’s concerned about the accusations against Crenshaw.

“We can’t ignore the issue if the evidence is damning,” Harkness said. “I knew Crenshaw had a lot of transfers this past season, and I told Crenshaw officials to make sure they checked out all of the eligibility.”

He says the penalties for submitting an inaccurate eligibility roster could include stripping the school of its City Section title, taking one season of eligibility from the players who were in violation and placing the school on probation.

Thomas Byrnes, CIF commissioner, says the CIF would consider taking away a State title from any team that had a group of ineligible athletes participating.

The assistant coaches are unlikely to receive any penalty because, Harkness says, the improper-contact rule had previously been “unexplored” regarding volunteer coaches.

“This is not something directly pointed toward Crenshaw,” Harkness said. “I have been aware of a number of people involved in this situation that are not in basketball. . . . (But) the reality is we can’t continue to allow this.

“It’s an absolute conflict of interest on both sides. Kids are being influenced subtly and not-so-subtly, and they end up wanting to go where the adult is and that’s only natural.”

Harkness says he plans to investigate the findings in this article.

EXPLANATIONS

Nine transfers sounds like a lot.

Gene Yamamoto, the Narbonne athletic director, says he has kept other schools’ eligibility lists for the past four years and has never seen anything like it.

But Crenshaw officials and parents say there was nothing sinister. They say no one would have paid attention to the transfers if the team had been 2-28, rather than 28-2, this season.

“If we were trying to slip this by, we could have done it when these kids were 10th-graders,” West said. “That’s when no one notices.”

Ronnie Arch Sr. says the motivation to play at Crenshaw is simple.

“My oldest son went to Crenshaw, their mother went to Crenshaw, we’re from the Crenshaw area, and Coach West is a great guy. That’s why my son (Ronnie) is over there,” the elder Arch said.

He said another motivation was the camaraderie among the transfers. The younger Arch, Laurie and Maurice Robinson were all Westchester players who decided to go to Crenshaw.

“The guys over at Westchester, they all knew each other (as kids). I mean 6, 7, 8 years old . . . “ Ronnie Arch Sr. said. “They wanted to play (together).”

The elder Arch, however, did not want to talk about whether Ronnie lived at his grandparents’ house in the Crenshaw district at the time of enrollment. The elder Arch said he didn’t want to answer that “not because I feel there was anything wrong,” then later responded:

“OK, the point is that everybody did what they needed to do (enrollment-wise) to get their kids in Crenshaw. That’s the bottom line. Regardless, if I lived here (in the Dorsey area) and needed a permit to do that, that’s none of your business, as far as I’m concerned. If I used his grandmother’s house and he was living with his grandmother, or whatever the hell happened, that’s none of your business. If there is a problem with that particular part, you need to be talking to the administration part of the school.”

Westchester Coach Ed Azzam--who lost Arch, Laurie and Robinson to Crenshaw--said he had “no animosity toward the kids, but I don’t like the manner in which they left.

“I understand losing a kid once in a while because of some conflict perhaps, but never four at once,” said Azzam, who also considers Fowlkes a transfer from Westchester. Fowlkes went from Westchester to Culver City before transferring to Crenshaw. Laurie and Robinson were on the Westchester varsity roster during the 1991-92 season. Neither was a starter.

Crenshaw officials say that some players who transfer into Crenshaw’s district have lived in the district originally. According to Ronnie Arch Sr., one of those is Maurice Robinson.

Said Lee, the Crenshaw assistant principal: “I just wish there wasn’t only a (notation) for the players who transferred to the school. I wish they would have a place (on the eligibility roster) to note the players who originally lived in the district and then transferred back in again.”

Harkness says the transfer-eligibility problems are not unique to Crenshaw.

“You could do the type of investigation that you’re doing and you’re liable to find a fair number that don’t meet the transfer requirements, but I don’t know the number,” Harkness said.

But merely because transiency is common is not an excuse, according to Harkness, who says the rules give anyone a method for a legal transfer if their reason for the move is legitimate.

“Essentially the system doesn’t allow for all-star teams,” Harkness said.

Speaking generally, rather than about Crenshaw, Harkness says eligibility and coaching violations are nothing new to the City Section but are difficult to enforce because there are so many ways to work around the system.

“High school basketball in Southern California as an entity is corrupt,” he said. “It’s because of the number of people, both in and out of the programs, that are willing to manipulate kids.

“This was more visible just because of the number of kids (who transferred).”

That visibility took its toll on West, even as he returned to his hotel room after winning his fifth State title in Oakland.

Recalling the specter of allegations, he said of the title: “I couldn’t even enjoy it.”

By the Book

California Interscholastic Federation City Section rules:

LEGAL RESIDENCE (Rule 223)

* 223-1--The legal residence of a student who represents a high school in athletics must have been in the high school district of that school when registering as an entering student. Any student who registers in a school other than the one in whose district the student legally resides is ineligible to represent that school in athletics unless attending on a permit which carries athletic privileges or on a Statement of Residence.

* 223-2--Any student who moves into another high school’s attendance area and establishes legal residence, and subsequently moves back to the original address, shall be declared ineligible at both schools for one year.

TRANSFER ELIGIBILITY (Rule 214)

A. A student may have transfer eligibility provided the student is compelled to move from any school to a CIF school due to:

1) a bona fide change of residence from one school attendance area to the attendance area of the new school by the parents or legal guardian(s) with whom the student was living when the student established residence eligibility at the prior school, or . . .

2) a ruling by the Board of Education of a school district which has two or more high schools, provided the change of schools is not the result of disciplinary action.

B. When a student transfers from one school to another without the student’s parents or legal guardian(s), with whom the student was living when the student established residence eligibility, moving to the new school’s attendance area, the student will be ineligible even though a new legal guardian is appointed.

RECRUITING (Rule 510)

The use of undue influence by any person or persons to secure or retain a student or to secure or retain one or both parents or guardians of a student as residents may cause the student to be ineligible for high school athletics for a period of one year and shall jeopardize the standing of the high school in the CIF.

CONTACT WITH NON-ENROLLED ATHLETES (Rule 144)

A coach or any other person representing the athletic program of a high school may not have personal contact with a student who does not reside in the attendance area of that high school before that student is officially enrolled in said high school.

Coaches may offer general information at junior high articulation sessions to all students regarding sports offered, requirements for eligibility, etc., but personal contact must be limited only to those students whose address is within their attendance areas.

Crenshaw High’s State Champions

A look at the 1992-93 boys’ basketball team roster:

STARTERS

Player Yr. Pos. Ht. Wt. 91-92 School Tremaine Fowlkes Jr. F 6-6 193 Culver City Kristaan Johnson Jr. F 6-5 215 Montclair Prep Reggie McFerren Jr. G 6-5 161 Serra Maurice Robinson Sr. G 6-1 174 Westchester Leon Watson Jr. C 6-7 180 Crenshaw RESERVES Ronnie Arch So. F 6-4 156 Westchester Keith Davis Jr. G 5-9 129 LACES Stacy Gentle Sr. G 5-10 142 Crenshaw Tyson Gill Jr. F 6-5 186 Crenshaw Marvel Lacy II Sr. G 5-10 142 University Rico Laurie Sr. G 6-2 148 Westchester Jermaine Lynn Sr. F 6-3 185 Crenshaw Robert Parker So. G 6-1 171 Audubon Jr. Antonio Simpson So. G 6-1 160 Muir Jr. Calvin Valrie Sr. G 5-8 131 Hamilton