STONERIDGE IS RECERTIFIED BY NCAA.

Byline: RAMONA SHELBURNE Staff Writer

Stoneridge Prep of Simi Valley, one of the nation's elite prep basketball programs, has been recertified by the NCAA following a three-month audit of Stoneridge and approximately 100 other schools.

The NCAA began the audit this year in an effort to crack down on so-called ``diploma mills'' with loose academic standards and requirements for high-profile prep basketball players.

The NCAA has found 25 schools from which it will no longer accept academic credentials to be used in the NCAA initial-eligibility certification process. Among those still under review are Oak Hill Academy (Va.), Fork Union Military Academy (Va.), Bridgton Academy (Maine) and Patterson School (N.C.).

According to Mike Mahoney, Stoneridge's managing director, the school initially came under review because it did not respond to an NCAA request for information in a timely manner because the request was received while the school was on spring break.

``We welcomed the NCAA's scrutiny as a way to differentiate ourselves from other prep schools,'' Mahoney said.

``The NCAA actually called us and said how easy it was to rule on our situation because we'd done our own quantitative audit of our academic track record.''

Five Stoneridge players signed with Division I colleges this year. This year's team returns four players, including a trio of 7-foot international players, led by Mamadou Diarra.

Eight newcomers, including Charles Boozer, the brother of NBA player Carlos Boozer, will join the team.