Ethan and Evan Worley could be scoring for a new basketball team as early as Jan. 11.
The two brothers who are juniors transferred from Windsor High School to Hillsboro High School on Dec. 21, Hawks athletic director Ed Moreno said. But they cannot play in games for Hillsboro until they are cleared by the Missouri State High School Activities Association.
The Worleys have played basketball for the Owls for the last three seasons. They were in uniform on the Hillsboro bench during the Hawks’ game against Herculaneum on Thursday (Dec. 27) during the Bob Sechrest Jr. Christmas Tournament in Park Hills.
Hillsboro head basketball coach Dan Johnson said the Worleys tried out for the Hillsboro team on Dec. 23.
However, he said, the Worleys will be on the bench until MSHSAA renders its verdict. They can practice with the team but cannot play in games at any level.
“I was very upfront with the Worleys with the three options MSHSAA could give them,” Moreno said Friday (Dec. 28). “They could be ineligible for 365 days. They could be varsity restricted for 365 days. The third option is full eligibility once they meet the requirements to be full-time students at Hillsboro High School. I think they’ve gone about this in the right way. They waited until the close of the semester.”
For the Worleys to be eligible to play this season, MSHSAA has to rule that their family has made a “full-family move” to the Hillsboro district. If MSHSAA approves the transfer, the first day the Worleys would be eligible to play is when the Hawks visit Festus on Jan. 11.
Johnson said since Windsor and Hillsboro compete in the Jefferson County Activities Association large-schools together, he knows what the twins bring to the court. For the Owls, the Worleys combined to play in 80 games and score 786 points.
“We’ve played against them and knew they were good players,” Johnson said. “It’s mid-season. You have to figure out eligibility and grades to see how it fits together.”
Evan Worley is a 6-foot-7 post and Ethan Worley is a 6-1 guard. Senior Michael Brewer, who is 6-5, is the tallest player currently on the Hawks and averaging 23.6 points and 13.3 rebounds.
But Hillsboro (7-3) lacks complimentary size for Brewer after Gaven Pinkley graduated last spring.
The Hawks have been the most successful basketball team in the county the past three years. Johnson has guided them to 49 wins and the Class 4 sectionals the past two seasons.
Whether or not either of the twins break into the Hillsboro starting lineup immediately is to be determined.
“We’ll always play the guys who give us a better situation to win,” Johnson said. “It’s not who you start, it’s how your minutes go. As of right now, they’ve been on our scout team. We’ve got a lot of good players. (The Worleys) are both very skilled and athletic. Both seem to have high basketball IQs. They’ve played a lot of basketball.”
In a text on Friday, Moreno said he cannot control questions that are sure to arise about the transfers and people will form their own opinions.
“I can confidently without hesitation look at anyone and tell them that until the day they showed up we had no idea they were moving into the district,” Moreno said.
The Leader called and emailed a MSHSAA official about whether or not the Worleys would be eligible to play this season, but did not receive an immediate response.