WPIAL delays eligibility decision on Moon basketball star Donovan Johnson

By: Chris Harlan
Wednesday, June 5, 2019 | 6:27 PM

Donovan Johnson’s senior season remains in limbo.

The WPIAL board held an eligibility hearing Wednesday for the Moon basketball star but delayed any decision until Johnson’s family provides more information about why he repeated eighth grade, WPIAL executive director Tim O’Malley said.

Johnson’s parents argued that Donovan should be eligible for a hardship waiver “but they couldn’t substantiate it with documentation,” O’Malley said. “So we asked if we can have that and they’re going to give it to us.”

Johnson attended Moon for eighth grade and then repeated the year at Rhema Christian School in Coraopolis.

The WPIAL will make a decision at its June 17 board meeting, O’Malley said.

PIAA rules restrict a student to six seasons of athletics beginning with seventh grade and the WPIAL believes Johnson already has exhausted his limit, making him ineligible for next season.

The WPIAL must decide whether Johnson could qualify for a hardship waiver under PIAA rules, O’Malley said.

Johnson averaged 22.6 points and 9.4 rebounds per game this past season as Moon went 28-2 and won the state Class 5A title. He recently added an offer from North Carolina.

He was the TribLive HSSN boys basketball player of the year last season and also was named as the state’s Class 5A player of the year in all-state voting.

Chris Harlan is a TribLive reporter covering sports. He joined the Trib in 2009 after seven years as a reporter at the Beaver County Times. He can be reached at charlan@triblive.com.

Tags: Moon