Small-town Napa is now home to one of the country’s top stars – but Josh Jackson won’t be showing his skills against CIF competition
Although there was a small splash last summer in the Bay Area prep media about the new basketball academy in Napa, and its star from the Class of 2016, not much was known by local high school fans about Prolific Prep and its high-flying 6-foot-8 wing Josh Jackson.
There was chit-chat about the new program and Jackson, some positive and some negative, by naysayers that talk and tweet before knowing the facts.
In reality, the only way to truly find out what’s going on at the after school program that combines a college preparatory atmosphere on the court and in the classroom, is to take a trek to the Wine Country to get the story and talk to the kids – and that’s exactly what we did, not once but twice to watch the boys in action, the second time on January 31 when Jackson, the composite ranked No. 1 junior prospect in the nation squared off against the composite ranked No. 1 sophomore in the country, 6-foot-11 DeAndre Ayton of Balboa City-San Diego.
Before taking you courtside at Napa Valley College, a history and overview of the people behind the scenes will set the stage.
Jeremy Russotti is not an unfamiliar name in the boys basketball community of the North Bay portion of the Bay Area. The 39-year old Russotti played at Analy (Sebastopol) and then at Sonoma State and coached at Casa Grande (Petaluma) where his first protégé Josh Akognon went on to play professionally.
Since then, Russotti has become one of the most highly-respected basketball trainers in California. The products of his progressive skills training curriculum are in high demand by college coaches.
In the past Russotti’s high school and college clients had to go back home after the summer and return to school. That challenge led him to team up with good friend and former Sacred Heart Cathedral-San Francisco and University of San Francisco coach Philippe Doherty to kick start Prolific Prep. Russotti runs the program and Doherty coaches, although both are coaching at practices and on the bench during games.
“It’s a meeting of the minds,” mused Doherty.
For Jackson that means he’ll be able to stay in Napa year round. After the 2013-14 National Sophomore of the Year led Consortium College Prep (Detroit, Mich.) to a Class C state title, he began training with Russotti. Then last August, he helped the USA win the gold medal at the FIBA U17 World Championships in Dubai. Jackson came back to Napa and enrolled at Justin-Siena-Napa where he currently maintains a 3.1 GPA.
“Justin-Siena is a bigger school than I’m used to but the kids here motivate me,” said Jackson while posing for pictures with his fans, including some little kids that gravitate to the likeable, always smiling student-athlete, and who chased him around the court after the end of both games we attended.
“Everything is spread out here and there’s lots of land, and grapes, but its quiet and I like it,” continued Jackson. “Back home, the competition level was getting worse and I really didn’t like the snow. Coming here I’m playing a national schedule and against top players in every game.”
“Josh may be the best player in country under 19,” Doherty remarked. “He has a very high basketball IQ and he’s very skilled and extremely competitive. Not only has he been blessed, but he has the backing of his mom (Apple Jones) and she’s a firm, honest lady who’s not swayed by any negativity.”
Grassrootshoops editor Ronnie Flores agrees with a caveat with respect to national honors.
“Josh is no doubt one of the best players in the country, and he’d be right up near the top of the list, but for this year he’s not eligible for Mr. Basketball USA honors because he and all his teammates don’t attend the same school. But still, he’s probably the best wing prospect to ever play in Northern California.”
Challenges to overcome
The fact all the players don’t attend the same high school is a current challenge and an NCAA requirement for next school year, but that is only one challenge of many that Russotti and Doherty have had to overcome.
“All the kids will attend the same high school next year,” Doherty said, and although rumors exist it could be Justin-Siena or another North Bay private school, he would not elaborate at this time.
Getting the players into one school is certainly a challenge but just getting the unique program off the ground was a hearty task.
Trying to put together a 12-player roster that could play on an elite national level against prep schools, and on a short fuse, was complicated by the fact the town of Napa was rocked by 6.0 magnitude earthquake in late August.
According to Doherty, the feat would never have been accomplished without sponsors and support from the local community.
The team doesn’t have a gym of its own, so it plays its games at Napa Valley College and practices at Grace Church of Napa Valley. Many of the players either live in dorms or with host families.
The bottom line is there is a difference between Prolific Prep and other basketball academy-type programs around the country.
Prolific Prep is a 501C-3 program and is neither a regular high school nor a boarding school like the Oak Hill Academy of Virginia team that recently beat Bishop O’Dowd-Oakland and its Mr. Basketball USA No. 3 ranked star Ivan Rabb for a second time this season.
Nevada’s Findlay Prep is not a school either, since the players on its roster attend Henderson International School (a school with no 9-12 grade students), but Findlay Prep is a member of the Nevada Interscholastic Activities Association (NIAA) and can play other NIAA schools.
Prolific Prep is not a member of the California Interscholastic Federation so it cannot play CIF member schools.
European style program
“We don’t want to be a school, and we don’t have the resources to be a school,” Doherty remarked. “We’re an academy, like an AP class in basketball.”
“People in the US intertwine school and sports,” Doherty continued. “Here at Prolific Prep we’re doing the same thing as done in Europe. In Europe, school and sports are separate. When the bell rings to end school, you go to academy.”
Mixing in local and other California talent
So with Jackson as the main cog in the wheel, Russotti and Doherty set out to assemble a group of young men that fit the mold they’re looking for in a player.
They would like to have attracted more top 25-type players besides Jackson, but what they have to start is a solid group that bodes well for the future.
“Next year when all the players go to the same school and we’re in a state of the art facility we’ll have more top 25-type players,” Russotti said. “We don’t want top 25 guys that won’t work or can’t fit into our progressive curriculum.”
Besides Jackson, a big factor so far in the success of Prolific Prep is senior 6-foot-3 point guard Kyle Leufroy from Pasadena. Leufroy, who recently signed to attend Lehigh, led St. Francis-La Canada to its deepest run ever in the CIF Southern Section and CIF Southern Regional playoffs last year as a junior.
“I was informed about this, I want to say, a week before my other school I attended the last two years started,” Leufroy told the Napa Valley Register. “I came up here to meet Jeremy and then sat down with my family, which was going to support me no matter what I did. Ultimately I made the decision to come up here because it’s such a great opportunity to play a high level of competition in basketball. I knew I could get better year-round with high-level training that would better prepare me for college."
Leufroy is attending Benicia for high school with 6-foot-9 teammate Ryan Stewart of Benicia.
Grumbles
Besides Stewart, two other local players that would certainly have impacted their previous school’s programs are on the Prolific Prep roster, and although we didn’t interview their former high school coaches, the Bay Area prep basketball community is small, so after 30 years on the beat we hear the grumbles.
Justin-Siena has 6-foot-10 Sasha French in its classes, and the senior center played for the Braves basketball team the past two seasons. But after class this year, he parts with former teammates and heads to Prolific Prep.
French claims there are no hard feelings at Justin-Siena, but what coach wants to lose the tallest kid in the Redwood Empire portion of the CIF North Coast Section?
Another impact player that left Prep2Prep Northern California No. 3 ranked Campolindo-Moraga, but still attends school there and then makes the 50-mile jaunt to Prolific Prep, is three-point specialist and senior guard Matt O’Reilly.
“I have no regrets. It’s a great atmosphere and we play top national competition. I love playing here and the experience,” said O’Reilly.
In the first game we attended, the 6-foot-3 O’Reilly had six 3-pointers and 21 points in a 129-91 victory over Elite Prep from Southern California’s Inland Empire.
A different French connection
Besides Sasha French there are two other French connections at Prolific Prep.
Doherty was born in France and speaks French. Not surprisingly, Prolific Prep has two French-speaking players from Mali, sophomore Mamoudou Diarra and freshman Amadou Sou. Mamoudou, a highly-regarded 6-foot-9 forward, has been injured. Amadou, a 6-foot-8 center, sees limited action and is being brought along by Doherty.
“I conduct practices in French and English,” Doherty chuckled.
More international flavor
The Prolific Prep roster certainly has an international flavor. Another key contributor is sixth-man Marko Filipovity from Kasposvar, Hungary, a 6-foot-8 senior forward.
Still student-athletes
Just because these young men have chosen a different path doesn’t mean they aren’t student-athletes. According to Doherty, six players on the team have at least a 3.8 GPA or higher.
The curriculum
According to Russotti and Doherty and the academy’s web site, Prolific Prep provides a college-preparatory education on and off the basketball court while transforming the student-athlete in reaching his fullest potential.
In terms of the educational process, the fundamental premise is that each athlete is first and foremost a student. The programs and services enhance a student-athlete's overall development, well-being and help them reach their full potential in preparing for life after athletics.
The Big Game
Since our readers now know everything about Prolific Prep, we’ll tell you the January 31 matchup with Balboa City-San Diego was everything it was cracked up to be.
Jackson followed up a 31-point, 29-rebound, and eight-assist performance in the win over Elite Prep by getting the better of Ayton in an 85-78 victory over Balboa City.
He finished with 30 points, 19 rebounds, and three each blocks, assists and steals, as Prolific Prep held off the boys from Southern California before about 500 enthusiastic fans at Napa Valley College, the largest crowd to see a game so far.
The play that really took the starch out of Balboa was a flying tomahawk jam in which Jackson took off around 8-10 feet from the basket on the baseline and rose up at least a foot above the rim before flushing it down a la Michael Jordan.
Ayton, who was saddled with foul trouble in the first half, finished with 20 points and 15 rebounds.
Leufroy had 12 points, Algevon Eichelberger, a 6-foot-7 junior forward from Michigan, played very well in the paint and gave Ayton problems. After tallying 16 points and 10 rebounds against Elite Prep, he finished with 14 points, five rebounds and four blocked shots in the Balboa City win. Filipovity added 10 points and Stewart had six rebounds and drew two of the fouls on Ayton.
O’Reilly had an off shooting night (1-for-4 on 3-pointers) and finished with six points, but he contributed four assists.
Update note: Since the second trek to Napa two weeks ago by the Prep2Prep Caravan the team has won four straight. First was an 84-59 home win over Simpson Academy-Redding, and then in a three-game road trip to Southern California they took out Stoneridge Prep-Simi Valley (84-68) and then came a 106-93 win over Elite Prep, and finally the boys from Napa made it two straight with a 78-58 win in San Diego over Balboa City. The team’s next action is Feb. 21-22 in Reno before returning home for a Feb. 27 matchup with Hillcrest Academy of Mesa, Arizona.
