Ashton Williamson is fully eligible.
The star guard, who is ranked as the No. 3 sophomore in Indiana by Prep Hoops, will appear in his first varsity game for 21st Century on Friday night, changing the landscape of Class A Sectional 49 at Kouts.
Williamson was initially denied full eligibility by the IHSAA after transferring from Calumet to 21st Century earlier this school year. Instead, he was granted limited eligibility, meaning he could only participate in junior varsity contests.
That decision was reversed Friday after his family, alongside Crown Point-based lawyer Michael Jasaitis, appealed the original ruling and was able to have it overturned by the state s Case Review Panel.
According to the IHSAA s website, Mantis career high is the highest scoring output of any boys basketball player in the state this season. That zone is something that you can t really describe. You re blocking out everything and you re just focused on one thing: winning, Mantis said. When the ball was in my hands, I felt like no one could guard me. Every time I shot it, it felt like it was going in.
The 6-foot-7 guard shot 19 of 30 from the field, 8 of 11 on 3-pointers and 7 of 7 at the free-throw line to surpass Lowell s previous single-game scoring record of 50 points by 2011 grad Austin Richie.