Gwynn Park has been among the county's most impressive teams and entered this week undefeated at 10-0, 6-0 in the Prince George's 3A/2A/1A league.

The Yellow Jackets will be challenged in coming weeks, however, as they try to replace starting point guard Keith Thomas, who became academically ineligible after the second academic quarter. "The kid had over a 2.0 [grade-point average] and failed an [Advanced Placement] class," Coach Mike Glick said. "He would be eligible in just about any other jurisdiction in the state."

Academic eligibility regulations vary by school system; Prince George's is in the first year of a rule that requires students to maintain at least a 2.0 GPA without failing any classes.

Gwynn Park's first game without Thomas was a 71-65 victory over Fairmont Heights this past Friday. Senior Eric Thomas moved into the starting lineup and sophomore Tim Floyd boosted his playing time.

"It's a challenge, but just like any year I've coached, there are always going to be things that pop up in the middle of the season that you're not expecting that you're going to have to overcome," Glick said. "Other guys are going to have to step up and assume other roles. It's definitely a loss for us. It's going to take us four or five games to get adjusted. The thing that hurts most is that Keith was our biggest talker, our leader -- he was my extension on the floor."

Up and Down Week for Stags