Jerry Joseph was the name he used, and he was pretty good at basketball. His friends thought he was a 16-year-old sophomore, and it turns out that it was all a big ol' Texas lie.
Joseph is really 22 years old, and his real name is Guerdwich Montimere, a naturalized U.S. citizen from Haiti. Montimere graduated from high school in 2007 and decided that he wanted to re-live his glory days by pretending to be in high school all over again.
"Everyone just thought he was a big guy," said Permian senior football player Steven Pipes. "He played the part good, skipping down the hallways acting goofy like a 16-year-old."
Joseph played basketball at his new high school and was a solid contributor, averaging 20 points per game. He was caught when three Florida coaches recognized and confronted him. He initially denied the allegations and immigration authorities believed him for a while.
After having his identity confirmed by school police, though, he confessed.
Joseph (or Montimere) was arrested and charged with failure to identify himself to a police officer. If convicted, he could face a maximum of six months in jail and a $2,500 fine.
Montimere's 37-year-old cousin, Tales Simeon, was shocked.
"At 22 years old, if you're good, they still take you in the NBA or wherever you want to go. So why did he try to be something else, to change his age? What happened?" Simeon asked. "I have no idea. I don't know what's going on. This is crazy."
Montimere (pictured on the right as a real student in Florida) got into school in Odessa by presenting a falsified birth certificate and enrolling as a ninth grader at a local junior high. He was actually being recruited for college basketball scholarships and appeared to be quite developed for the age of 16. Imagine that.
I wouldn't say there's much to learn from this story, which is actually quite amusing on the surface. Let's just hope he didn't date anyone while reliving his glory days. In that case, he might find himself in a similar position as Lawrence Taylor.
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This guy was trying to hustle the system in order to make it to the NBA.
It had nothing to do with re-living his glory days as a high school player in Florida.
Dude was broke and homeless (or pretended to be) and in order to make his dream of making it to the NBA and become rich and famous with a hard luck story attached (all sports fans are really suckers for a rags to riches story), he devised this scheme in his head to relocate to the state of Texas, which is a football/basketball crazy state with all it's citizens and their undying love for their high school teams (they don't ask questions and will cheat to win) who wants to win at any or all costs.
So Mr. "Jerry Joseph" re-identifies himself as a high school kid (since he looks so young) with superior b-ball skills at the age of 16 (which put him in the 10th or 11th grade) in order to completely dominate the competition, win multiple state championships, get all the state and national recognition for the next 2-3 years and have college coaches drolling all over him with free ride scholarships from major college b-ball programs from all over the nation.
And once in college, plays his azz off as a college freshman, leaves school after his 1st year (one & done) and applies for the NBA draft.
Instant millionaire.
The only thing that he did not think through is that if you're an all-state b-ball star in high school, then you will be recongnized throughout the nation by everybody: via the national news, your b-ball high school accomplishments, summer league games and AAU games which are mandatory for high school b-ball stars if they want the college coaches to evaluate you and offer you scholarships.
He probably would have had a better shot if he went back to Haiti and hatched this scheme but I guess that would be a real stretch and he could not afford the relocation.
Also, why pick Permian High School in Odessa, Texas? Isn't that the high school featured in the movie & TV show "Friday Night Lights"?
Mr. "Joseph" must have really done his "studies" about that entire town.
I guess if you are going to sucker people, situate yourself among real "ride or die" sports suckers.
Are you serious with this comment. Why does everything today have to be about molestation. Before you blast me, yes I am a parent of two beautiful girls, one in HS & the other in college.
The guy was probably trying to get a basketball deal due to not finding a real job in this economy.
thank you allico aint noone said anything about rape or girls He was playin bball livin his dream he just wanted to be the star again Im guessin but why in the world would anyone wanna do high school again??? ;lol thats what crazy about it
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This young man was not back in school to rape anyone, he was there to play ball. Just think, instead of him going back to High School to play ball, how would you feel if he was on a corner selling drugs or shooting people. And now we are looking to send him to prison for what? Pretending to be a High School Student. If we do this then we need to send some teachers to prison for pretending to educate our children.
He was very smart to put this scheme together. He would have continued pulling it off if not questioned. Stlll not clear how they recognised him. How would they recognise him?
This young man may have started this to re-live his glory days, to try to get into college or the NBA but let's be real. We are naive to believe that all he did was play ball. He lived the daily life of a 16 year old. Hanging with the guys etc. That also means dating. Many girls want to date the jocks in high school and as even a moderate "star" b-ball player, girls had to want to be with him. So while this story is not about molestation or rape it may evolve into that. Everything he did while posing as a 16 year old comes into question.
@Nordicman..,..Is your comment about the article, or about black people? You need to take youf white ass outta here. Either you're Bill Scheire parading under another name or just some redneck cracker hanging out in a black room. Either way, you need to leave. For your information, black people do not readily put their children in harms way, asshole. This guy needs to be locked-up. First of all, if he has to play against 15-18 year olds to prove his skills, that only proves that he is no better than a high school kid. Secondly, how the hell did he get into school without a proper transfer? Third, yes I want to know if he was dating the high school girls.
Lash Extensions 101: Faux And Fabulous
Happy Birthday, Mr. T!
"At 22 years old, if you're good, they still take you in the NBA or wherever you want to go. So why did he try to be something else, to change his age? What happened?" Simeon asked. "I have no idea. I don't know what's going on. This is crazy." 
Dr. Boyce Watkins is the founder of the Your Black World Coalition and the author of the new book, "Black American Money." To have Dr. Boyce commentary delivered to your email, please click here. 
Comments: (18)
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By: ARNEADER on 5/13/2010 1:16AM
This is a SHAME!
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By: ooozzzzz on 5/13/2010 8:37AM
Guerdwich "Jerry Joseph" Montimere.
This guy was trying to hustle the system in order to make it to the NBA.
It had nothing to do with re-living his glory days as a high school player in Florida.
Dude was broke and homeless (or pretended to be) and in order to make his dream of making it to the NBA and become rich and famous with a hard luck story attached (all sports fans are really suckers for a rags to riches story), he devised this scheme in his head to relocate to the state of Texas, which is a football/basketball crazy state with all it's citizens and their undying love for their high school teams (they don't ask questions and will cheat to win) who wants to win at any or all costs.
So Mr. "Jerry Joseph" re-identifies himself as a high school kid (since he looks so young) with superior b-ball skills at the age of 16 (which put him in the 10th or 11th grade) in order to completely dominate the competition, win multiple state championships, get all the state and national recognition for the next 2-3 years and have college coaches drolling all over him with free ride scholarships from major college b-ball programs from all over the nation.
And once in college, plays his azz off as a college freshman, leaves school after his 1st year (one & done) and applies for the NBA draft.
Instant millionaire.
The only thing that he did not think through is that if you're an all-state b-ball star in high school, then you will be recongnized throughout the nation by everybody: via the national news, your b-ball high school accomplishments, summer league games and AAU games which are mandatory for high school b-ball stars if they want the college coaches to evaluate you and offer you scholarships.
He probably would have had a better shot if he went back to Haiti and hatched this scheme but I guess that would be a real stretch and he could not afford the relocation.
Also, why pick Permian High School in Odessa, Texas? Isn't that the high school featured in the movie & TV show "Friday Night Lights"?
Mr. "Joseph" must have really done his "studies" about that entire town.
I guess if you are going to sucker people, situate yourself among real "ride or die" sports suckers.
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By: allico3 on 5/13/2010 8:39AM
Are you serious with this comment. Why does everything today have to be about molestation. Before you blast me, yes I am a parent of two beautiful girls, one in HS & the other in college.
The guy was probably trying to get a basketball deal due to not finding a real job in this economy.
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By: catt on 5/13/2010 8:58AM
thank you allico aint noone said anything about rape or girls He was playin bball livin his dream he just wanted to be the star again Im guessin but why in the world would anyone wanna do high school again??? ;lol thats what crazy about it
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By: christian louboutinshoes on 5/13/2010 9:58AM
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By: cstu on 5/13/2010 10:46AM
This young man was not back in school to rape anyone, he was there to play ball. Just think, instead of him going back to High School to play ball, how would you feel if he was on a corner selling drugs or shooting people. And now we are looking to send him to prison for what? Pretending to be a High School Student. If we do this then we need to send some teachers to prison for pretending to educate our children.
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By: chocolatebox on 5/13/2010 11:47AM
He was very smart to put this scheme together. He would have continued pulling it off if not questioned. Stlll not clear how they recognised him. How would they recognise him?
http://www.myspace.com/chocolate_box777
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By: Jada on 5/13/2010 2:50PM
@ chocolatebox...smart? you call him smart? You my love are a MORON. There was nothing smart about what he did
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By: shocked! on 5/13/2010 12:04PM
This young man may have started this to re-live his glory days, to try to get into college or the NBA but let's be real. We are naive to believe that all he did was play ball. He lived the daily life of a 16 year old. Hanging with the guys etc. That also means dating. Many girls want to date the jocks in high school and as even a moderate "star" b-ball player, girls had to want to be with him. So while this story is not about molestation or rape it may evolve into that. Everything he did while posing as a 16 year old comes into question.
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By: Will on 5/23/2010 2:57PM
@Nordicman..,..Is your comment about the article, or about black people? You need to take youf white ass outta here. Either you're Bill Scheire parading under another name or just some redneck cracker hanging out in a black room. Either way, you need to leave. For your information, black people do not readily put their children in harms way, asshole. This guy needs to be locked-up. First of all, if he has to play against 15-18 year olds to prove his skills, that only proves that he is no better than a high school kid. Secondly, how the hell did he get into school without a proper transfer? Third, yes I want to know if he was dating the high school girls.
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