How can an exceptional high school basketball player prepare for college basketball? Conversely, how can colleges scout high school basketball superstars?
An academy in Northern California holds some of the best young basketball talent not only in the United States, but the globe. Prolific Prep Basketball Academy is located in Napa Valley and was founded in 2014 to provide the quintessential preparation needed for high school athletes to take their skill and talent to the collegiate level while gaining a college preparatory education.
The head coach and main director of Prolific Prep is Billy McKnight. McKnight has had 18 years of coaching experience, ranging from high school to AAU travel teams to Division 1 college basketball. He has even been a head coach in the Chinese Basketball Association, China’s top basketball league. McKnight has worked with several basketball players who eventually went on to play professionally, both in the NBA and overseas, including former NBA great Stephon Marbury (who now plays professional basketball in China) and current NBA player, Aaron Brooks.
The assistant head coach of Prolific Prep, Philippe Doherty, has also had years of experience — 14 — coaching Division 1 College, AAU travel teams and high school teams. In college, Doherty played Division 1 basketball at Santa Clara University. He also has experience working with former NBA players in addition to college athletes that played in the NFL.
Prolific Prep invites athletes and coaches from all over the globe to attend the academy. The 2015-2016 roster currently has twelve players that originate from all over the world. There are a total of twelve players on the roster that are from the United States, the other seven players are from other countries, including Canada, Ghana, Nigeria and Mali.
Last year, Micah Elan ‘16 played for Prolific Prep. Elan was the sixth man of the Lick varsity basketball team as a freshman and was given the nod to be the starting point guard sophomore year. He transferred out of Lick to attend Justin Siena High School and play for Prolific Prep. There was some speculation that Prolific Prep would move to Marin, and Elan decided to return to Lick- Wilmerding for his senior year of high school.
Elan reflected on his time at Prolific Prep: “It was a lot of fun. It’s a pretty normal routine just like Lick; a lot of traveling and a longer season but it was fun.” When asked about the relationships between his coaches and other teammates, Elan said, “It was a good experience because of how my teammates were from all parts of the world.”
He was humbled by the opportunity “to meet some people [he] would’ve never met and play with people who have enough talent to play in the NBA. The coaches were really invested in teaching us and they were always around to help us with school and everything.” There is no doubt that Elan’s time at Prolific Prep has helped elevate his game.
Based on Prolific Prep’s resume, the academy does a tremendous job in preparing high school athletes to play in college and possibly the NBA.
