Kenwood took the court for its first state-tournament game 24 hours later than expected. The Broncos were missing five players, coach Mike Irvin and two assistant coaches. They were all ruled ineligible for violating Illinois High School Association rules.
That was still more than enough for the Sun-Times’ preseason No. 1 team to beat visiting Morton 81-35 in a Class 4A regional semifinal.
Assistant Mohammad Cookbey took over as head coach. One starter, senior Calvin Robins, and three bench players, freshman Devin Cleveland, sophomore Rajan Roberts and junior Chris Watkins were joined by members of Kenwood’s sophomore team.
In the 24 hours before the game, one of the state’s powerhouse basketball programs was ripped apart by rules violations.
Chicago Public Schools’ Office of the Inspector General presented evidence and documents to the IHSA on Jan. 25 that revealed potential residency rules violations for multiple Kenwood basketball players. The IHSA investigated further.
The CPS investigation showed that multiple players used falsified items, including utility bills, to meet Kenwood residency requirements. Players and coaches provided inaccurate home addresses.
The players not present at Thursday’s game included senior Jaden Smith, an Arizona State recruit, senior Chris Riddle, a DePaul recruit, senior Edwon Duling and junior Aleks Alston.
Smith transferred from Lincoln Park to Kenwood after his freshman year. Riddle played at Kenwood the last two seasons and his freshman year. He spent his sophomore season at Compass Prep in Arizona. Alston has played at Kenwood all three years.
The CPS Office of the Inspector General presented evidence of the violations to the IHSA on Jan. 25. Nothing was done at that time. Kenwood was allowed to play in the city tournament and advanced to the championship game on Feb. 10.
An IHSA bylaw allows the CPS to govern their schools. CPS Sports Director David Rosengard declined to comment.
On Monday, the first day of the state tournament, the IHSA decided to take action.
“The IHSA respects CPS’s internal processes for enforcing eligibility rules and overseeing and disciplining its member schools,” IHSA Executive Director Craig Anderson said. “However, the IHSA has never ceded authority to CPS to enforce IHSA rules, and in this instance, with the [tournament] underway, the issue pertains to competition between a CPS member school and other IHSA member schools located throughout the state.”
The IHSA kicked Kenwood out of the state tournament entirely. Kenwood appealed to the IHSA board, so Wednesday’s game was postponed.
On Thursday, the IHSA board ruled that Kenwood could play in the state tournament without the five ineligible players, two assistant coaches and Irvin.
Kenwood responded by requesting a temporary restraining order in Cook County Circuit court at 3:30 p.m. Judge Caroline Moreland ruled in favor of the IHSA.
“This is a very unfortunate situation, and we take no solace in delivering a ruling like this,” Anderson said. “It is the job of the IHSA to enforce the rules its member schools have put into place in order to provide equity for all of the high schools competing in [state tournaments]. The IHSA was independently presented with these violations by the CPS Office of the Inspector General, and I would be derelict in my duties if I had ignored the evidential violations within it.”
Kenwood’s star-studded team was a major attraction. Learning that the core of the squad was ineligible over the last two seasons is bound to bring up many questions.
And the impact on the current players and parents is substantial.
“How do you make a decision that is so impactful on these seniors if the investigation is still ongoing,” said Tina Cleveland, Devin’s mother. “You can’t reverse it. The tournament will be done. It doesn’t show any consideration or any fairness.”
CPS has remained quiet, declining to comment on why it didn’t act when it first received the information. CPS says it cannot comment on ongoing investigations by the Office of the Inspector General.
Irvin has not responded to multiple requests for comment.
“A CPS high school shared concerns with the CPS Office of the Inspector General about Kenwood, which ultimately revealed documents and evidence that violations of IHSA rules had occurred,” Anderson said. “Today’s suspension is a starting point in what will likely be an extensive investigative process meant to protect the integrity of the [state tournament] and the 729 other high school teams competing in it.”
Kenwood will host the regional final against Oak Lawn at 6 p.m. Friday.
