West Ranch junior Ebiebichukwu “Prince” Okonkwo’s unofficial sit-out period has ended.
According to the CIF Southern Section’s website, Okonkwo was cleared to play as of Thursday.
There is still no indication that West Ranch boys’ basketball will be forced to forfeit games that the forward played in after he cleared for the first time season.
“I’m happy he’s back playing with the team. We just got better,” said Wildcats coach Jeff Bryant via text message.
Bryant had no comment on the question of whether the team would be forfeiting any games.
The junior sat out for weeks after being deemed ineligible a month after initially being cleared.
Okonkwo returns for the remainder of his junior season. The Wildcat spent his freshman year at West Ranch before briefly transferring to Medford Tech High School in New Jersey as a sophomore.
With West Ranch boys basketball taking its league bye on Friday, Okonkwo will rejoin the team in time for its road non-league matchup at Carlsbad.
The 6-foot, 9-inch forward will also be eligible for the team’s final Foothill League matchups, which come in a two-game home stand for the Wildcats.
West Ranch heads into the week with a Tuesday home game against Hart and its regular season finale with Golden Valley. Both games tip off at 6:30 p.m.
