Eligibility Panel Sends Dejworek To Vikings Bench; Appeal Planned

Perhaps the best high school basketball player in Coeur d’Alene - and one of the best in the state - may be sitting in the bleachers this winter.

A state high school eligibility committee ruled Tuesday that transfer student Phil Dejworek of Ulm, Germany, is ineligible to play at Coeur d’Alene.

“(The eligibility committee) didn’t find enough sufficient information justifying waiving the rule,” IHSAA executive director Bill Young said Wednesday in announcing the decision.

Dejworek, a senior, had to apply for a waiver because he moved to Coeur d’Alene without his parents, who live in Germany.

“I’m going to appeal,” Dejworek said. “I’m still hoping I can play because it’s very important for me. I need a scholarship.”

Dejworek can appeal the decision Dec. 2 before the IHSAA board of directors at a meeting in Boise. The board can either overturn the decision or rule Dejworek ineligible. If the board endorses the eligibility committee’s ruling, the decision is final with no further course of appeals.

Dejworek, who turned 18 last month, holds out hope for a reversal. Two years ago, the IHSAA board ruled Lake City basketball standout Brian Russell eligible after a similar ruling by the eligibility committee.

“It wasn’t totally unexpected,” Viking coach Larry Bieber said. “We’re not upset about it. We’ll just go through the appeal process.”

The 6-foot-8 Dejworek enrolled at CdA last week. He transferred from South Eugene (Ore.) High where he led the school to a fourth-place finish in last year’s State 4A Tournament, Oregon’s largest classification.

The left-handed Dejworek averaged 13.9 points and 11 rebounds per game while shooting 67 percent from the field.

He is living with friends of his parents in Hayden Lake.

Dejworek had to leave South Eugene because an Oregon prep rule allows foreign athletes just one year of eligibility. He came to the U.S. as a sophomore on an exchange program, attending Mercer Island High near Seattle. But after suffering an injury early in the season, he returned to Germany for the remainder of the year before moving to Eugene.

Eligible or not, Dejworek said he doesn’t plan on moving again this year.

“No matter what, I’m going to finish school in Coeur d’Alene,” he said. “I’m not letting my head hang down. I’m just going to continue to go to school, work out and try to improve. If they don’t let me play it’s their problem.”

Dejworek said he has received recruiting interest from the University of Portland and San Diego.

“I feel positive about an appeal,” Bieber added.

Dejworek’s case was one of about 70 the eligibility committee ruled on the past two days, Young said.

, DataTimes