By ADAM ZAGORIA
Jonathan Kuminga, the No. 1 prospect in the Class of 2021 and a projected Top 10-pick in the 2021 NBA Draft, was deemed immediately eligible to play at The Patrick School after receiving a stay of proceedings from a judge late Monday afternoon.
The 6-foot-8 Kuminga then went out and scored 20 points in his debut as The Patrick School, ranked No. 3 by USA today, beat No. 23 Roselle Catholic, 72-64, in the Kyrie Irving Invitational at Barclays Center.
The Celtics have now beaten Roselle Catholic twice this season including a Fall League game in October, although the win snapped a six-game losing streak in official high school competition.
“It feels really amazing being a leader on this team,” Kuminga told Richard Greco of NJ.com. “I’m not the only reason (that we won), but in this moment I needed to be a leader. I wanted to bring the win home. That’s what I had to do.”
Auburn coach Bruce Pearl and Saint Peter’s coach Shaheen Holloway and assistants from UConn, Seton Hall, Rutgers and St. John’s were among those on hand for Kuminga and RC big man Cliff Omoruyi (12 points, 10 rebounds), among others. Xavier-bound guard C.J. Wilcher had 20 in the loss for the Lions.
“(Kuminga) facilitates it sometimes too much, but I thought he did a great job facilitating tonight,” Patrick School coach Chris Chavannes told NJ.com. “We needed to calm him down. He needed to set the tone. He did a fabulous job with that and let (the game) come to him.”
More @JonathanKuming6 highlights via the @YESNetwork pic.twitter.com/p923rpb7Jd
— Adam Zagoria (@AdamZagoria) December 24, 2019
.@JonathanKuming6 with the sweet dunk for @tps_hsbb in his debut pic.twitter.com/VRVAoC8Bb1
— Adam Zagoria (@AdamZagoria) December 24, 2019
Kuminga got the clearance to play about an hour before the game.
“As per our legal representation we have been made aware that Jonathan Kuminga has been granted a stay of proceedings and has been deemed immediately eligible to play basketball for The Patrick School,” Chavannes told ZAGSBLOG.
“Obviously, we are concerned about this situation and are cooperating fully with the NJSIAA. Given that this is an ongoing litigation and due to privacy issues regarding student-athletes, we are limited in what information we can share right now, but we intend to provide additional information as soon as we can.”
Kyrie was courtside to watch @JonathanKuming6
— Adam Zagoria (@AdamZagoria) December 24, 2019
and his alma mater @tps_hsbb
at the Kyrie Invitational pic.twitter.com/zcRydeCEdU
As first reported Friday morning on ZAGSBLOG, the NJSIAA ruled Kuminga, Adama Sanogo and Bretner Mutombo were ineligible for 30 days due to transfer rules.
Sanogo and Mutombo remain out for the Celtics.
The 6-foot-8 Kuminga and the 6-10 Sanogo transferred to the Hillside, N.J. school from Our Savior New American on Long Island, while the 6-11 Mutombo transferred from Lincoln Academy (GA).
A native of the Congo, Kuminga is the No. 1 prospect in the Class of 2021, and is a projected Top 10-pick in the 2021 NBA Draft, per ESPN.com.
He is being recruited by Duke, Kentucky, Auburn and Texas Tech, among others.
“Kuminga is just on another level than everyone right now,” one college coach in attendance said.
Sanogo, originally from Mali, is ranked the No. 10 center in the Class of 2021 per 247Sports.com and holds offers from Seton Hall, UConn, Xavier, Oregon, TCU and Marquette, among others.
Mutombo, from the Congo, is ranked the No. 17 center in the Class of 2021 and holds offers from TCU, Penn State and Georgia, among others.
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