Kenwood Academy boys basketball shorthanded at regional semi-final match due to suspensions
CHICAGO - Simeon High School defeated Kenwood Academy 58-50 on Wednesday night and will move on to the Riverside Sectional Finals on Friday.
It's not the ending that Kenwood's basketball team hoped for. A win would have given them more time to fight their IHSA suspensions and get back on the court.
Several players are still suspended and the team's head coach and two assistant coaches are not allowed on the sidelines.
Jaden Smith and Edwon Duling didn't play in the semi-final match on Wednesday after being barred from the playoffs following several investigations that revealed residency fraud.
The CPS Inspector General's Office says several players used falsified documents or incorrect addresses to meet the residence requirements to attend the school.
The seniors want to finish out their final season, especially Duling. He says he is losing out on college scholarships because scouts haven't seen him play.
"We really worked hard to, to get all the way to this moment and we just want to be out there," Duling said.
Duling says he has been enrolled at Kenwood since his freshman year through a program used for students with unstable housing situations.
He says the Chicago Public Schools website states students in that program can participate in sports.
Associate Coach Donald Pittman is now leading the team. He says the CPS rules do not match the rules at the state level and need clarification.
"When people ask me, ‘Hey, you know, what did Kenwood do?’ I have a hard time trying to explain it because it's, you know, I was a head coach for over 20 years and to be a head coach and not have to not have experienced anything like this is insane," Pittman said.