Pettiness In High School Basketball

Great column by Paul Valencia in Wednesday’s edition of The Columbian.

Here’s the gist: Evergreen’s Justine Joudrey was one of the best girls basketball players in the area this year, but she wasn’t voted first-team all-league by the Class 4A GSHL coaches. The reason? The other coaches are suspicious of how Joudrey and some other players ended up at Evergreen playing for first-year coach Jay Foreman. At least that’s Valencia’s take on the situation.

Sunday night, I spoke with representatives from the other four Clark County high schools in the 4A GSHL, asking them to tell me where I was wrong with my assertion. Not one of them wanted their names associated with this column. And not one of them denied that this vote looks strange.

In Jourdrey’s case, her family’s home was foreclosed, forcing her to move. They moved into the Evergreen boundary to play for Foreman, who was her AAU coach. But regardless of the reason, Valencia is correct in calling out the league coaches: If you have a problem with another coach, deal with the coach or deal with the way the rules are written. Don’t take it out on a high school junior.

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