By: Keith Kappes
Columnist
Carter County Times
As a former high school basketball player in Kentucky, I cannot imagine how I would have reacted to losing a game in double overtime to a team with a newly-eligible player scoring nearly 50 points against us.
That happened to my grandson recently and it made me upset that the regular season is nearly over and somehow what we might call a “ringer” is declared eligible and defeats our school almost singlehandedly.
Parents and other supporters of our squad gathered on the court after the game to console our disappointed young men. I overheard phrases like “hold backs,” “COVID kids,” and “medical red shirts” as those unhappy folks tried to understand or explain what had happened.
In that gathering, I also heard people grumbling about the growing number of student-athletes who still live in our 16th Region school districts but are playing for different schools in other counties.
In my day, persuading or enticing an athlete to change schools was called recruiting or tampering but it was rarely exposed at the high school level. However, I understand that parents of “elite” high school athletes are welcoming, even encouraging, that behavior in today’s environment.
Pity those hometown players who get to their last two years of high school and lose their starting positions or worse, their places on the squad, to new players who suddenly appear.
I do not know the details of the athlete transfer policies of the Kentucky High School Athletic Association (KHSAA) but it concerns me that our high schools may be falling into the same swamp as the NCAA.
A combination of the transfer portal and six-figure NIL payments each season to gifted athletes has made NCAA colleges and universities into nothing more than farm teams for the NFL, NBA, NHL, and other professional leagues.
For example, a school like UK with wonderful athletic support from its Big Blue Nation is rumored to be unable to compete with the player compensation rates of other SEC football institutions.
Sadly, I can barely remember those days when colleges competed on the court, on the field or another venue, but not at the pay window.
Contact Keith at keithkappes@gmail.com.
I am not sure what happened to the comments I read here a few days ago. I read this article and agreed with Mr. Kappes’s ideas about recruiting in high school. Every issue he mentioned has been a hot topic for several years. He mentioned a situation without names or schools. He did not place any blame on students. He mentioned his grandson to show his connection to the topic. I, personally, do not know any specifics of this transfer or why it happened. What I do know is that Keith Kappes is a man of integrity, strong character, knowledgeable, intelligent, and respected. He didn’t deserve the backlash written here probably due to the frustration of some on both sides of the transfer issue. Keith Kappes was Sports Information Director at Morehead State before becoming Vice-President. I think it is reasonable to say that Keith has the background, education, intelligence, and maturity to be heard on this topic.