Ribet Academy shuts down boys basketball program for this school year
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Ribet Academy will not have a boys basketball team this winter, school headmaster Ronald R. Dauzat confirmed Tuesday afternoon.
“There’s no more basketball,” Dauzat said. “We cannot support the program like we used to.”
The program was a CIF Southern Section Open Division team this past season under coach Reggie Howard. Led by high-level collegiate recruits including juniors Tre White, Mike Price, Barrington Hargress and senior Tyler Powell, the Fighting Frogs went 13-5 in the abbreviated season.
BREAKING: Headmaster at Ribet Academy, Ronald R. Dauzat, confirms there will be no boys basketball program this coming season.
"There's no more basketball. We cannot support the program like we used to," said Dauzat.
Full story coming…@RonMFlores | @FrankieBur
— Tarek Fattal (@Tarek_Fattal) August 10, 2021
Ribet is known for its international students, but a lack of incoming students has led to financial troubles at the school. There had been speculation the school was closing down, but that’s not the case.
“There are about 300 international students that cannot enroll in the school right now due to travel restrictions and other challenges,” said Dauzat.
The school expects roughly 350 students this semester, but is still unclear on what grade levels it’s going to provide. Dauzat said he believes Ribet will be enrolling 8-12th grade students. The fall semester begins Sept. 1.
When the boys basketball team competed in the spring, it was the only athletic program operating at the school. The school’s website says it provides athletics such as basketball, volleyball, soccer, flag football, dance, cheer swim and golf. But athletics as a whole is in question this school year, according to Dauzat.
What next for the players?
White, Price and Hargress are now high school basketball free agents, so to speak. According to CIF Southern Section rules, when a school cannot provide a sport to student-athletes, it allows students to transfer without penalty, which means they’d be eligible to play immediately without moving or serving a sit-out period.
White is a 6-foot-5 forward rated as a four-star recruit by 247Sports.com. He has offers from LSU, Kansas, Illinois and Oklahoma State. Price is a four-star guard, according to ESPN, and was named the Daily News Freshman of the Year in 2020 after averaging 20 points per game for Crespi. Hargress is a floor general with a high IQ and interest from local NCAA Division I programs like Pepperdine and LMU.
Local schools Sierra Canyon, Heritage Christian and Village Christian have been linked as potential destinations for some of those players.