The first major day of the Illinois High School Association state basketball tournament began with a shock and some mystery. The IHSA postponed Kenwood’s state playoff game against Morton about one hour before it was scheduled to tip off on Wednesday.
Kenwood (22-7) was supposed to host a Class 4A regional semifinal doubleheader featuring the host Broncos against Morton at 6 p.m. and Oak Lawn vs. Reavis at 7:30 p.m.
Oak Lawn coach Jason Rhodes learned at 2:55 p.m that his game was moved to Oak Lawn.
All those changes were revealed on the IHSA website. Then there was silence for hours. The IHSA revealed what was happening at 8 p.m., saying it will meet on Thursday “to review documentation from Kenwood Academy related to an investigation by the IHSA and the Chicago Public Schools (CPS) Office of the Inspector General.”
“We recognize that the timing of this decision is unfortunate, and we feel for all the impacted teams,” IHSA Executive Director Craig Anderson said in a statement. “However, we want to provide Kenwood Academy with the appropriate time to ensure the eligibility of its student-athletes. Eligibility is essential to the integrity of IHSA events, and if an ineligible player is discovered to have participated, it could have significant consequences. The IHSA Board of Directors will meet on February 22 to review documentation from Kenwood Academy, which will allow the IHSA Board of Directors to determine the appropriate plan for this Class 4A Regional moving forward.”
Kenwood, which lost to Curie in the Public League championship game on Feb. 10, is the No. 2 seed in the Riverside-Brookfield sectional.
The Broncos were the Sun-Times’ preseason top-ranked team. They had an up-and-down start to the season but found their stride over the last month and are Class 4A state championship contenders.
Kenwood coach Mike Irvin was suspended by the IHSA for the first two games of the season for allowing a student that was not enrolled at Kenwood to play with his team over the summer.
The IHSA does not name players. But a player from Wisconsin was with the Broncos back in June at the annual Riverside-Brookfield Summer shootout. That player was not on Kenwood’s roster this season.
It’s unlikely the summer incident has much to do with the IHSA postponing the playoff game on Wednesday. Kenwood had two players transfer away after last season and added one transfer, sophomore Rajan Roberts from Proviso West.
Kenwood principal Karen Calloway is one of 12 IHSA board members. The board is made up of principals, athletic directors and superintendents from around the state. Calloway represents Division 1, which is all of Chicago.
According to the IHSA, in this situation Calloway will serve as a representative as Kenwood and not an IHSA board member.
Irvin hasn’t responded to requests for comment. A spokesperson for Chicago Public Schools declined comment, saying they would defer to the IHSA statement.
