Florida Prep Schools Offer Basketball Players Path to the Pros
We’ve all heard of high school players leaving their district schools for a private institution in hopes of building more of a recruiting profile for colleges.
Some players could be behind the eight ball with being looked at by colleges if their neighborhood school is not very competitive. It could be seen as they’re putting up empty stats.
But also, some players may struggle academically or not perform to their best in the classroom and need more of a hands on teacher-student relationship to build up their GPA.
College prep/private schools in Florida such as Montverde Academy, IMG Academy, and Orlando Christian Prep are the homes of NBA players today that took the leap of faith and left home in their pursuit to capture collegiate basketball offers to higher their chances at securing a spot in the pros.
When I think of Montverde Academy, the first thought that comes is the duo of Ben Simmons (Philadelphia 76ers) and D’Angelo Russell (Minnesota Timberwolves), who brought a High School National Tournament to the institution in 2014. Simmons migrated all the way from Australia to play at Montverde while Russell came from Louisville, Kentucky.
Simmons was the No. 1 player in the Class of 2015 while D’Angelo was also a four-star recruit in the Class 2014. They both were chosen high in the NBA draft and now have the title of being an NBA All-Star to their names.
Simmons wasn’t the only player to leave their native country for a better opportunity.
In 2015, current New York Knicks small forward R.J. Barrett came from Canada to play at Montverde before accepting a scholarship offer to play at Duke before being picked third overall in 2019.
On a lesser scale, IMG Academy is the home of: Jonathan Isaac of the Orlando Magic, Dwight Powell of the Dallas Mavericks and Anfernee Simons of the Portland Trailblazers.
Isaac was rated five stars at IMG as a postgraduate before committing to Florida State and being picked sixth by the Orlando Magic in 2017.
Powell was ranked a Top 25 player when he was preparing to graduate out of IMG in 2010.
He went on to play at Stanford for all four years before being drafted in the second round by the Charlotte Hornets before being traded to the Cleveland Cavaliers and then Boston Celtics before the season began in 2014.
Simons spent a postgraduate year at IMG like Isaac after graduating from Edgewater was the No. 7 player in the country before ultimately decommitting from Louisville and entering his name in the 2018 draft before being picked by the Portland Trailblazers with the 24th overall selection.
Leaving Oakleaf after his sophomore season, Nassir Little decided to go to Orlando Christian Prep as he led them to two state championship victories and being recognized as a McDonald’s All-American along with winning MVP in the game.
Little would head to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill for a year before being drafted by the Portland Trailblazers with the 25th overall pick in the 2019 draft.
Florida has options when it comes to prep schools.
Should a high school player really consider leaving the friends they grew up with to team up with national powerhouses in hopes of nabbing some more scholarship options?
It seems like if you have the talent to succeed at these institutions, you will get the offers you want and end up on an NBA team two years later.
The question still remains if more players should look into this if they feel like the offers are not coming in.
Written by: Gerald Thomas, III
