NCAA president Myles Brand has been cracking down on “diploma mills”, that is high schools or other schools who give students a high school degree that’s worth less than the paper it’s printed on. There were some obvious target, like “virtual” high schools, but the NCAA delivered a zinger today when it put Oak Hill Academy (yes THE Oak Hill Academy) on its list of high schools where it will no longer, after Fall 2006, recognize their students as being NCAA eligible.

This is the Oak Hill Academy that is in the top of the nation of producing basketball stars. Jerry Stackhouse, Carmelo Anthony, Jeff McInnis, Steve Blake and UNC’s new star Tywon Lawson.

“Its embarrassing to be on the list with some of those schools…Twenty-two schools in the whole country, and we’re one of them. To me, it makes the NCAA look like it’s not credible.” — Oak Hill Academy head coach Steve Smith

I have every reason to believe Oak Hill will clear this up, but if they don’t, it will virtually end their prominence as a basketball powerhouse. Afterall, who would want to go to Oak Hill if they had no hope of going to a NCAA powerhouse like UNC or Duke?
You can read more at the NY Times.

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