In Reversal, Boys Granted Eligibility

After an emotionally charged hearing, the Southern Section executive committee overturned a ruling Wednesday and granted controversial transfer Ian Boys eligibility to play basketball for Simi Valley High this coming season.

The unanimous decision of the three-man committee of high school principals struck down a ruling by section Commissioner Dean Crowley on Oct. 23 that denied Boys eligibility based on a hardship waiver after his transfer from Buena to Simi Valley this fall.

Crowley’s decision did not hold up under aggressive challenges by Bobby Fullove, Boys’ legal guardian, and Alex Ross, an attorney representing the Boys family. Two letters addressed to Crowley alleging that undue influence was used to bring Boys to Simi Valley were not considered by the committee because they were unsigned.

In concluding his decision, committee President Tom Triggs said he had concerns about the “timing and sequence” of events surrounding the transfer but had “no evidence to support anything was manipulated.”

The ruling paves the way for Boys, a 6-foot-7 senior who led Buena in scoring and rebounding last season, to join a Simi Valley team expected to be among the best in the region. The Pioneers return four starters from a team that last season was 23-4 and tied for the Marmonte League title.

“I’m very happy,” Boys said after the 3 1/2-hour meeting at the Southern Section office. “It has been stressful.”

Fullove, who filed the appeal, said he was pleased with the process.

“I was glad some objective ears got to hear the matter in its entirety,” he said.

In sometimes tearful testimony, Ian’s parents, Eric and Julie, told how marital and financial troubles prompted them to turn over legal guardianship of the eldest of their five children to Fullove last summer. The estranged couple is going through divorce and bankruptcy proceedings.

“I hope no parent has to go through what I’ve gone through in the last three weeks,” Julie Boys said. “But I would do it all over again for Ian.”

Fullove came under scrutiny because his son Branduinn, a sophomore, plays basketball for Simi Valley after gaining eligibility last year by enrolling at Santa Susana, the district’s magnet school. The Fulloves moved from Winnetka to Simi Valley on Aug. 29 and Branduinn now attends Simi Valley High.

The Boys and Fullove families have known each other for about five years through their sons’ participation on youth all-star teams. Bobby Fullove coached a traveling team in 1994 that included his son, Boys and two other Simi Valley players--Rafael Berumen and Brett Michel.

Boys is the fourth high-profile player to transfer to Simi Valley in recent years and some rival coaches and administrators found it hard to accept Wednesday’s ruling.

“I still believe it has a smell to it,” Joe Vaughan, athletic director at Buena, said of Boys’ transfer. “But obviously we will live by [the executive committee’s] decision. That’s what the CIF is all about.”

Said John Crow, athletic director at Agoura: “For me, it seems like a blatant use of recruiting. I know the coaches have talked about [boycotting] playing Simi. But regardless of how they got those kids, we’ll go out and play them.”

Joe Pawlick, athletic director at Westlake, said Boys’ transfer was “not on a level playing field.”

“No one is supposed to transfer for athletics,” Pawlick said. “And there’s a kid who said, ‘I’m going [to Simi Valley] to play basketball.’ ”

A July 13 phone conversation between Boys and Buena basketball Coach Glen Hannah was discussed at length Wednesday. Hannah, following up on rumors that Boys planned to transfer, asked Boys where he was going to school this fall.

Boys answered “Simi,” even though the Fulloves still lived in Winnetka.

When asked by Triggs how he knew he would be attending Simi Valley more than a month before the Fulloves moved, a tongue-tied Boys answered, “That’s where I thought I’d be going.”

Boys said he did not discuss attending Simi Valley with either Bobby or Branduinn Fullove at the time.

However, Hannah says Boys gave a litany of reasons for the transfer, many of them basketball-related--he’d be playing with a better group of players, he’d have a better chance to win a section championship and he’d be seen by more scouts.

The executive committee broached parts of that conversation Wednesday, but did not conclude that undue influence had taken place.

Crowley, who did not attend the hearing, said he stood by his findings. “My directive is to follow the rules of the organization,” Crowley said. “I feel I did . . . But the executive committee has a right to grant waivers to our rules.”

Crowley’s denial of a hardship waiver came after a 3 1/2-week investigation into Boys’ transfer. The $2,000 cost of a private investigator was split by the Southern Section and the Simi Valley school district.

Simi Valley Principal Dennis Rast, who was accompanied at the hearing by Pioneer basketball Coach Dean Bradshaw and Athletic Director Roger McCamy, said he was sensitive to the suspicions of rival coaches and administrators regarding his school’s basketball program but had no choice than to abide by the executive committee’s ruling Wednesday.

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Deputy sports editor Eric Sondheimer contributed to this story.