NOTEBOOK : Forfeits Jeopardize Locke’s Postseason Play

One City football team suffered and others benefited from sanctions handed down last week for the use of ineligible players.

The Locke High football team forfeited victories over Fremont and Huntington Park for using an ineligible player, City Commissioner Barbara Fiege said Wednesday. Crenshaw, meanwhile, benefited when Carson was forced to forfeit two games for its infraction. The Cougars, who originally lost to Carson, 21-20, improved to 7-1 overall and 5-0 in the Southern Pacific Conference.

The Locke player was discovered by school administrators to exceed eight semesters of athletic eligibility. With the forfeit victory, Fremont’s record is 6-0, 5-0 in the Southeastern Conference. Huntington Park is 1-5 and 1-6.

“It’s unfortunate that something of this magnitude has occurred,” Fiege said. “However, to Locke’s credit, the administration handled the situation immediately upon discovering the student ineligibility.”

The losses jeopardize Locke’s chances of qualifying for postseason play. The Saints, 0-5 and 0-6 going into Friday night’s game, must win all their remaining games to be considered.

“This whole thing is a mess,” Locke Coach E.C. Robinson said. “No one told me the player was ineligible. He wasn’t a key player.”

This is the second rules infraction for Locke this season. Locke had been placed on two years’ probation for contacting players outside the school’s boundaries. No penalties were attached to the probation.

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Ready to sign--(Moose) Bailey’s future collegiate basketball career appears draped in purple and white.

The 6-1 senior point guard fom Loyola is expected to sign a letter of intent with the University of Portland on Nov. 9 during the one-week early signing period.

Playing two-on-two with friends at his Ladera Heights home, Bailey said he was excited about the prospect of playing for the West Coast Conference school. His father, John, showed pictures of his son’s recent on-campus visit.

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Miller Time/Prime Time--Mike Miller has done an impressive job in his two years as coach of the Los Angeles City College basketball team.

The Cubs, who went from a 15-15 record in 1992 to a 27-6 finish last season, suffered a one-point loss to Chaffey in the semifinal round of the California Community College championships.

The Cubs are ranked sixth in the nation by Jucodigest magazine. The only California team ranked higher was top-seeded Chaffey (32-6).

Returning for Miller are All-Southern California Athletic Conference players Markee Brown, Sai Tuialli and Derek Higgins.

Brown, a 6-2 guard, led the Cubs in scoring at 18 points per game.

But expectations are even higher in 1994 because of a fresh load of new talent.

Leading the pack is 6-6 forward Derrick Brown, a redshirt sophomore from New York City whom Miller calls “my most recruited player.”

In addition, 6-5 Terrance Askew from Chicago Crane and 6-8 Tony Cummings from the University of Hawaii, will strengthen an already powerful frontcourt. Freshman Jason Wright was rated third among point guards at the Rick Ball Ballstars Camp in Indiana last summer.

Freshman guard Calvin Patterson, an All-City performer averaged 19 points a game at Fremont.