'07 OH SF Bill Walker (Kansas State Verbal)

[AJHawkfan]

I just heard on the radio that Walker is appealing the OHSAA's ruling that he is ineligible for this coming winter. Guess who's representing him? Bob Huggins' attorney......

[sm00r]

http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.d.../SPT/307250041

Huggins' lawyer helps Walker
BY TOM GROESCHEN | ENQUIRER STAFF WRITER
<!--ARTICLE BODY TEXT-->The attorney for former North College Hill basketball star Bill Walker believes the player can win an appeal to regain his eligiblity for the 2006-07 season, Walker’s would-be senior year.
Cincinnati lawyer Richard Katz, whose clients include former University of Cincinnati coach Bob Huggins (now Kansas State coach), will represent Walker in an appeal hearing Aug. 10 before the Ohio High School Athletic Association Board of Control in Columbus.
“We expect to be successful,” Katz said Tuesday. “We think there are some serious issues in our favor.”
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Katz declined to be specific, but said there is paperwork that shows Walker should have two semesters of eligibility remaining at North College Hill.
Bob Goldring, an assistant OHSAA comissioner, said appeals in such cases usually are unsuccessful.

“Generally, the OHSAA board will not overturn a ruling by the staff,” Goldring said.

The OHSAA board is not authorized to waive the requirements of the bylaws, Goldring said. At the hearing, the board must decide if there was a mistake made in interpreting the bylaw by the OHSAA staff, if another bylaw could have been used that overrides the bylaw that was applied, or new information may be introduced – which was not available when the staff made its ruling – that may change the decision.

Walker’s family, represented by Katz, has sent a letter to the OHSAA announcing the appeal.

Walker and family members did not return calls seeking comment Tuesday. Katz said the family, for now, will not comment.

The OHSAA limits athletic eligibility to eight semesters. An OHSAA investigation, conducted following the 2005-06 basketball season, determined Walker had played two ninth-grade semesters at Rose Hill Christian (Ashland, Ky.) in the 2002-03 season, followed by six semesters of enrollment at North College Hill (2003-04, 2004-05 and 2005-06 seasons).

Walker, rated the nation’s No. 2 would-be senior by Rivals.com, was listed as a freshman by Rose Hill for the 2002-03 season. He transferred in February 2003 to NCH and was put back in the eighth grade.

At the time, the NCH administration believed its records showed that Walker – who has attended several schools since he was a youngster in Huntington, W. Va. – had not yet finished eighth grade. Katz said he has obtained documents that will prove NCH was correct in that belief.

Walker is a 6-foot-6 forward who was listed by NCH as a junior this past season, when he averaged 21.7 points and 10.1 rebounds a game in helping lead NCH to its second consecutive Ohio Division III championship.

NCH principal Kelly Hughes has indicated that the school itself would not appeal the Walker ruling, which was announced July 10. OHSAA appeals procedures state that students, parents of the student, school administrators, coaches, contest officials or “any other person having a vested interest in the issue” can make such appeals.

E-mail tgroeschen@enquirer.com
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[OSUBasketballJunkie]

Dispatch

7/27/06

HIGH SCHOOL BASKETBALL

North College Hill standout is appealing OHSAA ruling

Thursday, July 27, 2006

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CINCINNATI (AP) — Bill Walker, one of the nation’s top prep basketball stars, is challenging a ruling by Ohio’s sanctioning body for high school sports that would bar him from playing his senior season for suburban North College Hill High School.

Walker is widely considered second only to teammate O.J. Mayo among the nation’s best incoming seniors.

The Ohio High School Athletic Association ruled earlier this month that Walker has used all of his high school eligibility because he played at Rose Hill Christian School in Ashland, Ky., in the 2002-03 school year before playing for North College Hill the past three seasons.

"We’re appealing the decision to the commissioner," Richard Katz, the Walker family’s attorney, said yesterday. "We have a difference of opinion as to their ruling and as to why they ruled the way they did."

Katz said he will present evidence at an OHSAA hearing Aug. 10.

A spokesman for the OHSAA did not immediately return calls seeking comment.
Walker, a 6-foot-6 forward, averaged 21.7 points and 10.1 rebounds last season as he and Mayo led North College Hill to a second consecutive Division III state championship.

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

Cincy

8/11/06

Walker will have his eligibility appeal heard Aug. 16 at the Ohio High School Athletic Association office in Columbus, his attorney, Richard Katz, said. The OHSAA on July 10 ruled that Walker had exhausted his high school eligibility.

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

Cincy

8/16/06

WALKER APPEAL: North College Hill basketball star Bill Walker will seek to regain his eligibility at an OHSAA Board of Control appeals hearing today.
An OHSAA spokesman said Walker probably will not be reinstated to play his senior year at NCH this coming season, but the nationally known player nonetheless will have his eligibility appeal heard today (10 a.m.) at the OHSAA office in Columbus.
The OHSAA Board of Control ruled July 10 that Walker, ranked the nation's No. 6 senior by Rivals.com, has exhausted his varsity eligibility of eight semesters. An OHSAA investigation determined Walker played two ninth-grade semesters in the 2002-03 school year at Rose Hill Christian in Ashland, Ky., then attended six semesters at NCH (2003-04, '04-05 and '05-06 seasons).
Bob Goldring, an OHSAA assistant commissioner, said appeals in such cases usually are unsuccessful.
"Generally, the OHSAA board will not overturn a ruling by the staff," Goldring said.
Richard Katz, Walker's attorney, said his research shows Walker never actually completed eighth grade in 2002-03. Walker has attended various schools in Ohio, Kentucky and West Virginia since he was a youngster, including three schools during the 2002-03 school year.

E-mail tgroeschen@enquirer.com
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[wadc45]

I hate to say it but I am so beyond caring about Walker and Mayo anymore it is ridiculous...for his sake I hope he gets reinstated and once that happens I am ready to move on.

[osugrad21]

Canton Rep

Walker's appeal denied
BY TOM GROESCHEN | ENQUIRER STAFF WRITER
<!--ARTICLE BODY TEXT--> North College Hill basketball star Bill Walker today had his eligibility appeal denied by the Ohio High School Athletic Association Board of Control.
Walker was hoping to be reinstated to play his would-be senior season at NCH this school year. The OHSAA declared him ineligible July 10, after an offseason investigation found Walker has exhausted his eight semesters of varsity eligibility.
Walker was found to have played two ninth-grade semesters at Rose Hill Christian (Ashland, Ky.) in the 2002-03 school year, then three years at NCH (2003-04, 2004-05 and 2005-06 seasons).

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Richard Katz, Walker's attorney, said his research showed Walker had never actually completed eighth grade before coming to NCH in February 2003. Walker attended three schools in the 2002-03 school year in West Virginia, Kentucky and Ohio.
Katz said he is unsure if Walker's family might proceed with a lawsuit against the OHSAA, with the intent of having the courts declare Walker eligible to play. Walker could not immediately be reached for comment but said recently that he plans to finish school this year at NCH regardless.

"Naturally Bill and his family are disappointed," Katz said. "I think we presented sufficient evidence and documentation to warrant reinstatement, but OHSAA (Commissioner) Dan (Ross) just called me and said they denied the appeal."

The OHSAA Board of Control voted in private after today's hearing, then called Katz to let him know the verdict. There was no immediate statement from the OHSAA regarding the verdict, but OHSAA assistant commissioner Bob Goldring had said before the hearing that such appeals usually are denied.

Walker, a 6-foot-6 forward, is rated the nation's No. 6 would-be senior by Rivals.com. He averaged 21.7 points a game last season in helping lead NCH to its second consecutive Division III state championship. Walker's highly regarded NCH teammate, O.J. Mayo, is scheduled to return for his senior year at NCH this season.

Link

Walker attorney says eligibility appeal rejected
Thursday, August 17, 2006 CINCINNATI (AP) - The state's sanctioning body for high school sports has upheld its ruling that Bill Walker, one of the nation's top prep basketball stars, is out of eligibility, the player's attorney told The Cincinnati Enquirer for a story Thursday.

The Ohio High School Athletic Association didn't announce its decision after hearing Walker's appeal Wednesday in Columbus. Walker's attorney, Richard Katz, told the newspaper that OHSAA commissioner Dan Ross informed him of the ruling by phone.

Bob Goldring, an assistant commissioner, said the OHSAA