NBA scouts from around 15 potential lottery teams received good news yesterday when an Ohio judge blocked a state ruling that stripped basketball sensation LeBron James of his eligibility.

The judge ruled that the 6-8 phenom who has attracted the attention of every basketball expert in the world must sit out one more game before joining his team mates as part of his decision to allow James to take the court once again, but this does not mean the ineligibility has been lifted.  Tom Withers of Associated Press states that St. Vincent-St. Mary has four games left before the playoffs, and the school can decide which game James will miss.

Summit County Judge James Williams ordered the school to tell James by noon Thursday which game he will miss, and he has scheduled a preliminary hearing for Feb. 19 when he will decide whether to grant a permanent injunction or go to trial.

"Neither side is going to be happy," Williams said. "There are a number of issues the court wants to hear."

James was not in attendance during the hearing, but his attorney, Fred Nance, argued that his client did nothing wrong when he accepted the jerseys which caused him to miss one game thus far.

"All LeBron did was receive a gift from a friend as congratulations for his academic achievements," Nance said. "Had LeBron wished to capitalize on his fame, the recompense could be in the millions of dollars."

However, the Ohio High School Athletic Association found that the store gave James the Gale Sayers and Wes Unseld jerseys in exchange for posing for pictures to be displayed on its walls.  The movement came just four days after the athletic association cleared James of any wrongdoing for accepting a $50,000 sport utility vehicle as an 18th birthday gift from his mother.

James has continued to practice with his team mates during the controversy, and the school is also defending James in the belief that the punishment is too severe.  In being punished James? team, the Fighting Irish, were also forced to forfeit a Jan. 25 victory as well as losing their star player, a punishment the team is also trying to get overturned.

"LeBron made a mistake and accepts responsibility," James Burdon, chairman of the school's board of trustees, said. "He's apologized for the pain he's caused others. However, he has not committed a crime, nor has he consciously hurt anyone."

LeBron James is getting desperate.  Not allowed to take the basketball floor James will change courts today when he seeks a temporary restraining order against enforcement of the suspension.  James had his high school eligibility removed when he accepted two vintage jerseys valued at $845 from a clothing store in Cleveland.

At a hearing on Wednesday morning before Summit County Common Pleas Court Judge James Williams, James will seek a temporary restraining order against enforcement of the suspension.

In the meantime his career at St. Vincents St. Marys appears over, and he will be unable to appear in events such as the McDonalds High School game without his eligibility.

A few days after apparently getting two free "throwback" jerseys worth $845 at a local clothing store, LeBron James, the nation's top high school player and projeced first overall pick in the upcoming NBA Draft, has been ruled ineligible by The Ohio High School Athletic Association for the rest of the season.

Ohio High School Athletic Association bylaws state that an athlete forfeits his or her amateur status by "capitalizing on athletic fame by receiving money or gifts of monetary value."

"We're going to abide by the ruling," said coach Dru Joyce, who said he could not comment on a possible appeal. "We think that maybe there are some facts, that I don't know what they are, that could change things. But the bottom line is, that we're moving on as a team."

After attending a local high school game last weekend, James and some friends visited the clothing store "Next," where he picked out two jerseys -- one of Chicago Bears Hall of Famer Gale Sayers, the other of Washington Bullets center Wes Unseld.

The Sayers jersey costs $395; the Unseld jersey, $450.

Store manager Derrick Craig said the store's owner gave the jerseys to James for free.

"We get celebrities in here all the time," said Craig, who would not identify the owner. "They spend a lot of money and sometimes you just got to give them some love."

Goldring said OHSAA rules stipulate that athletes can't receive any kind of apparel worth more than $100.

And the situation might not just stop with his high school eligability being removed should James decide not to jump directly to the NBA.

"There could be possible eligibility ramifications with his participation in an NCAA school," said Bill Saum, a director in the NCAA's enforcement department. "The broad scope is, an athlete may not receive a benefit because of his athletic talent. We would have to see in our investigation if that's why he received these jerseys."

If James does not appeal his high school basketball year would be over, although he would still be able to participate in the Roundball Classic at the United Center in Chicago.  What he would not be able to participate in, however, would be the McDonalds High School game, argubly the most popular high school exhibition of them all.