It’s been a while since we’ve had the opportunity to have a little fun at the expense of Bruce Weber. So it was with great enjoyment that we learned of comments made by Lawrence North coach Jack Keefer regarding Weber on The Drive with JMV on Wednesday afternoon.

Keefer, as you may know, has jumped to the defense of Lawrence North after the parents of Dominique Ferguson and Justin Martin were critical of the academic progress of their sons at the Indianapolis high school. Both Ferguson and Martin have transferred to prep schools.

Besides defending Lawrence North, Keefer also voiced his displeasure with college coaches steering kids in the direction of prep school:

“There’s two things I’m not liking right now. I don’t like when people cut my school. And I don’t like it when your colleges encourage people to go the prep route. Whether it’s an Xavier or whether it’s a Pitino, I don’t care where it’s at. The last two Mr. Basketball potential players out of Illinois have gone to Findlay Prep. Findlay Prep is a store front prep school in Las Vegas of all places. And Weber has sent them there from Illinois. I actually told Bruce, ‘I don’t know if I want you in my gym anymore. Because if you’re going to take my best players and do that with them, then I have to give you a gut check here.’ I’m just not sure that’s the plan. That’s not the plan the NCAA wants to be done, that’s not the plan the high schools want to be done. You’re getting into an area I’m just not comfortable with.

We applaud your honesty on this one, Coach Keefer.

As reported on Wednesday, 2010 forward Dominique Ferguson is transferring to Hargrave Military Academy. This is not exactly surprising given the rumors about Ferguson leaving Lawrence North started circulating over a month ago.

What is a bit surprising are the comments made by the head coach of Lawrence North, Jack Keefer, regarding Ferguson and his decision to leave the school.

Keefer has long had a reputation for accepting players from other schools, including Greg Oden, who moved from Terre Haute. More recently, Ferguson himself bolted Franklin Central to come play at Lawrence North.

But now that Ferguson is no longer one of his players, his former coach is sounding off. Remember, we’re not talking about a professional or even a college player. He’s a teenager. Witness these comments from Thursday’s Indianapolis Star:

“Dom did not fit into being a Wildcat. The workouts and the classroom work and the discipline and teamwork were not what he was looking for. We have a great team here, a possible state championship team. I’m sorry he doesn’t want to be part of that.”

“He wasn’t qualified and wasn’t taking his summer classes that he needed to get caught up.”

Hear that sound? It’s Keefer backing up his Mack truck and then running over a high school kid. Bad work ethic? Check. Trouble in the classroom? Check. Not fitting in with the team? Check.

Regardless of what you or I think about Ferguson, it’s important to remember that he’s only in high school. The fact that Keefer publicly questioned his academic work ethic is out of line regardless of whether or not it’s true. I don’t remember it being an issue during the last high school season, so it shouldn’t have been an issue now.

Related:

• Audio of Jack Keefer on The Drive with JMV
• Ferguson: They can say what they want to say

(Photo credit: Indianapolis Star)