City Section to Investigate Crenshaw Basketball

The Crenshaw High boys’ basketball team, City Section and State champion this spring, is under investigation for several possible rules violations, Hal Harkness, City Section commissioner, said Monday.

Harkness said he expects the investigation to take three or four weeks.

The action was prompted by a story in last Saturday’s editions of The Times, which reported that four of the nine transfer students who made the Crenshaw team last season were not living full-time at the addresses listed on the school’s eligibility roster.

The players in question are junior forward Reggie McFerren, senior guard Rico Laurie, sophomore forward Ronnie Arch and senior guard Calvin Valrie.

The Times’ also reported that two volunteer assistant coaches, Maurice Duckett and Edmond (Tiny) Flournoy, had had significant contact with some of the transfers before they decided to attend Crenshaw.

It is against CIF rules for students to give false addresses to gain eligibility. It is also against the rules for coaches to contact athletes before they move into the district in which the coach works.

If the investigation determines that violations were committed, Crenshaw could be stripped of its City and State titles. McFerren, who is a junior, and Arch, a sophomore, could each lose a year of eligibility. As seniors, Laurie and Valrie already have used their eligibility. The team could also be put on probation or banned from the playoffs a year or more.

“I can tell you that a full and thorough investigation will be conducted in a timely manner,” said Harkness, who recently announced that he would be stepping down as commissioner in October. “This is not nickel-and-dime stuff that we are dealing with, so it will have to be done right. It is my job to make sure everyone receives their due process.

“We won’t stonewall anything,” he said. “We won’t compromise anything.”

Harkness said all findings will be reported to the 10-member Rules Committee, which is part of the City Section’s governing Interscholastic Athletics Committee.

The Rules Committee, headed by Sue Kamiyama, athletic director at Bell High, will decide the case.

Thomas Byrnes, CIF state commissioner, said his office would make any ruling regarding the State title. But he said the Crenshaw situation is a City Section matter first, and he would act only after receiving section rulings.

Crenshaw finished 28-2 this spring, defeating Dorsey for the City title and Jesuit High of Carmichael for the State championship. Carmichael is a suburb of Sacramento.