Basketball… So many thoughts come to one’s mind after hearing that noun. The game has made us judge, argue, hate and even fight. Yet we still love this game and wouldn’t change it for the world. Yes there are cons, but the pros outweighs the cons by far. The game of basketball has turned nightmares to fairytales for many! It has helped people put racial tension aside, it’s brought life and hope to millions of families and overall it has impacted the world in a fascinating fashion. Since its existence in 1891 it seems as though the game has never seized to keep growing. From a sport that was just known in North America for most of the 20th century, Basketball is now ranked as the third most popular sport in the world trailing only cricket and soccer.
The number of youth playing basketball worldwide has seen some record breaking numbers the past few decades; it’s fair to say that most of these kids have one common dream – to play in the most popular basketball league in the world the ‘National Basketball Association’. Many may ask when did making it to the NBA become such a world-wide dream? It happened in the summer of 1992, the first year that the Olympic committee allowed active NBA players to part-take in the America basketball team.
This team would go on to be known as the ‘Dream Team’ and to many sports writers the greatest team in all of sports. The Dream Team featured NBA legends such as Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, Charles Barkley and many other NBA greats. They won by an average of 44 points. But their greatest accomplishment was not destroying teams and winning the gold. It was showcasing the essence of pure basketball talent and the NBA. Making it the first time for practically all international countries to see what the NBA was and is all about. Many great international players such as Tony Parker, Dirk Nowitzki, Pau Gasol and many others credit the Dream Team for allowing the NBA to become more international.
Today the NBA has over 80 international players from over 40 countries. This has made in sort for more and more high schools and prep schools around the world to construct great basketball programs for their schools. Leaving plenty high schoolers with the dream of making it to make the NBA. Despite high school student’s 0.3% chances of fulfilling their childhood basketball dreams High schools and prep schools have still done a phenomenal job in building amazing basketball programs world-wide.
When people think of great high school and prep school basketball programs there are few teams that come to mind right away. Such as Oak Hill Academy who’s produced 27 NBA players, DeWitt Clinton who produced 19 NBA players, Dematha Catholic who’s produced 14, Laurinburg Institute 12. The list goes on but these four notable high schools and prep schools have developed the most NBA players. That is not to say that there aren’t many other great basketball programs. However, there has been a cliché amongst the youth that only schools in America can develop NBA players.
That cliché was recently put to rest after two players who came out of Canada’s Orangeville Prep got selected in the 2016 NBA Draft! Kitchener, Ontario’s own Jamal Murray who was picked at #7 by the Denver Nuggets and Sudanese/Australian and adopted Canadian Thon Makur who was picked at #10 by the Milwaukee Bucks.
Orangeville District Secondary School’s mission is “to provide exceptional educational opportunities as well as state of the art basketball facility and development for high school student athletes looking to make their passion for basketball a reality at the next level.” They’ve done a tremendous job of that and should be proud.
BasketballBuzz took the time to interview both Murray and Makur head coach at Orangeville Prep Larry Blunt who recently coached the Oshawa Power in the NBL Canada and who coached at the NCAA level for eight years.
BB: Coach can you tell us your thoughts on seeing two of your old boys Murray & Makur get drafted to the NBA?
LB: I think it’s exciting when you get an opportunity to see things work out for the boys. This gives us the opportunity to hopefully replicate it
BB: You seen the two come in as boys and transformed into men, how has that process been like?
LB: That process has been great. I think we can see it especially with Thon in the way he transformed his body. And with both of them you can see great transition they made emotionally and every other part of their game.
BB: How have you managed to keep your team so relevant with all the powerhouse teams you guys play in the states?
LB: Our guys play with a chip on their shoulders. Knowing that they need to go get the respect from their peers. We’ve been getting great feedbacks especially the last two years with Makur & Murray success. We touched success at not only the NBA but also the division 1 level which has been great.
BB : What has been the toughest challenge for your boys?
LB: Everything has been tough. Nothing is given here, I think the getting to practice at 3 or 4 then having to go to class has prepared them well. No favour is giving, kids have to fight, they do not have it easy and had to work for everything they had.
BB: What can we expect from Murray and Makur in the NBA?
LB: I think both of their game will translate well into the NBA. Especially with the new NBA, Thon can take advantage of the space with his shots. Especially with the new rule to get your hands off guys. Jamal Murray is a traditional point guard. I don’t think the world seen Jamal Murray in the global games and Nike tournaments where he ran a team. I think that is a skill set that the world will see. They also both possess a great work ethic.
