SoCalHoops High School News

Academics Takes Priority As
Coach Suspends Entire Team--(Jan. 11, 1998)

Maybe you missed this, but if you didn't then you already know that the coach of Richmond High's boys' basketball team has suspended the entire team, cutting off a 13-0 season.  The reason?  Poor grades by some (not all) of the team members.  Here's the story, exactly as it ran last Thursday in several Bay Area papers:

RICHMOND -- The NBA lockout is over, but another one has just gotten underway, featuring a high school basketball coach in Northern California who has canceled all team-related activities until he sees some improvement in grades.

Ken Carter made the decision even though Richmond High's boy's team has a school-record 13-0 start. He said several players have not lived up to contracts they signed earlier that focused on success in the classroom.

The second-season coach postponed last Friday's non-league game, which he hopes to reschedule. And he has threatened to forfeit Tuesday's league opener if there's no immediate improvement.

In the meantime, there will be no practices and no pep rallies.

"Our kids need to understand that working together is part of the process," Carter said. "This is just a way of getting their attention. I wanted to show them that playing sports is just a small part of their lives."

Senior forward Wayne Oliver agreed there may be some academic problems on the team, but said the lockout may cause the team to lose its focus.

"It guess it's for the best," Oliver said. "But I think we still need to practice. Not everyone has bad grades. This completely stops everything."

As part of their agreement, all players must maintain at least a 2.0 grade point average for each quarter, commit at least 10 hours a week to study time, attend all classes and sit in the front row of class.

"What coach Carter is doing is very courageous, and it supports the feeling of our administration wholeheartedly," vice principal Frank Fadelli said. "Yeah, we're 13-0 right now, and our kids might think they're invincible, so this is a real wake-up call for them."

We've heard of coaches suspending a player or two for poor grades, but an entire team?  Never. Is it gutsy, or overkill?  We suspect the latter, but then after all, Carter is certainly right about one thing: Sports is just a small part of the overall picture of what all players need to focus on;  one day the ball will stop bouncing, and then a player has the rest of his life before him or her, and they will need to be prepared.  If Carter can help with that preparation, more power to him.  What do you think?  We were contacted by a professor of education from a University on the East Coast who is interested in hearing your reactions to Carter's actions.  Let him know by posting your thoughts on the SoCalHoops Message Board.

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