This thread has taken a turn away from the topic of Bill Walker and the circumstances around his withdrawal. I have spoken to some people very close to the school and program and they confirm what has been stated. I only want to add a couple of thoughts on this and clear up a couple of things that have been stated....
First, this was not a decision of Bill Walkers. He is only in the 9th grade. In fact, I believe that if it were up to Bill he would be in class Monday morning at Rose Hill. From all indications he loved going to school at Rose Hill, he liked his classmates and his classmates liked him. His grades were good and the teachers liked him. In spite of what some people have written, Bill was in no way a problem student. Yes, he was emotional on the basketball court, but that is part of what made Bill Walker such a great basketball player. Bill will miss the school and the school will miss him.
Second, this is about adults using a kid. I know that some people that love to bash Rose Hill will say "Wasn't Rose Hill using Bill Walker?", but that would be stupid to compare the two. To some extent every high school in the country "uses" their student-athletes to gain recognition and collect money at the gate. But to require a kid to make a life altering decision like this to benefit an AAU team is degrading to the kid, and nearly criminal IMO. I feel sorry for Bill Walker and I am deeply disappointed in his mother. I question whether she truely realizes how much she is being used.
Finally, while I believe that Rose Hill made the right decision, actually the only decision, when they were asked to return Bill to the 8th grade; I hope they haven't closed the door on this kid. As I stated earlier, I truely believe Bill wants to be at Rose Hill and maybe his mother will wake up and smell the coffee. If that day comes I hope he approaches the school about reenrolling. Not because Bill Walker can jump higher than anyone in the 16th Region and is the best 9th grade basketball player in the state of Kentucky, but because in the end, Bill Walker needs Rose Hill Christian School a lot more than the basketball team at Rose Hill needs him.