FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. -- Kenny Hutchinson, regarded as one of the nation's top high school basketball players last year, has practiced with No. 18 Arkansas for the first time.
Hutchinson, a freshman from New York, had been ineligible to play or practice with the Razorbacks because he failed a test required to graduate from high school in the state of New York.
Arkansas officials said Monday that Hutchinson had passed the test, and could practice with the team under NCAA rules. He worked out with the Hogs Monday for the first time.
Hutchinson could play in Arkansas' remaining games, but head coach Eddie Sutton said he will be held out this season to preserve his full four years of eligibility.
Hutchinson, a product of Martin Luther King High School, signed with the Razorbacks last spring after turning down an offer from North Carolina State. His grades were high enough to meet NCAA standards, but failing the test deprived him of his high school diploma, making him ineligible.
Hutchinson enrolled at Arkansas for the 1983 fall semester, but could not play or practice with the basketball team or receive scholarship aid, university officials said.
In high school, Hutchinson, a 6-foot-5 point guard, was noted as a top passer, ballhandler and scorer, averaging 25 points in his junior and senior years.
