Latest news with #Montverde
New York Times
4 days ago
- Sport
- New York Times
Mavericks two-way signee Ryan Nembhard has NBA model: his older brother Andrew
The January 2021 meeting between Montverde Academy and IMG Academy was stuffed with star power. Montverde had future NBA lottery pick Jalen Duren and eventual pros Dariq Whitehead and Caleb Houstan on its roster. IMG, meanwhile, put two future NBA lottery picks, Jarace Walker and Jett Howard, on the floor, and started another soon-to-be pro, current Charlotte Hornets center Moussa Diabaté. Advertisement 'Between us and IMG, we had like nine guys in the top 50,' said Kevin Boyle, who was Montverde's boys basketball coach for 14 years. 'I'm like, 'The best guy in the gym is Ryan Nembhard. And he's the only one not ranked.'' In Boyle's eyes, that meeting between the two Florida prep school powerhouses was more proof that Nembhard was not to be underestimated. The Aurora, Canada native was his usual rock-solid self, notching 10 points, five rebounds and four assists. Montverde hung on to beat IMG 55-51, part of its 24-1 season. Nembhard played two years at Creighton and then two years at Gonzaga. As a senior in Spokane, Wash., he led the nation in assists. His 181 assists in West Coast Conference play were a conference record. He racked up nearly four assists for every one turnover. Nembhard is allergic to making low-percentage plays, but his size prevented him from being a first-round pick. At the NBA Draft Combine, Nembhard was measured at 5-feet-11, sans shoes, while weighing 176 pounds. In June, Nembhard agreed to sign a two-way contract with the Dallas Mavericks in undrafted free agency. Through three games at NBA Summer League, he has been a steadying presence, averaging 11.3 points (40.6 percent shooting) and 6.7 assists. 'I've been kind of dealing with it my whole life,' Nembhard said about being an undersized guard. 'I am who I am. I'm not going to grow much more. I'm just looking to build on this opportunity I'm getting. At a certain point, the height won't be talked about anymore. At the end of the day, you just have to roll the ball out and play hoops.' Nembhard tries to emulate other diminutive guards such as Chris Paul, Kyle Lowry and Fred VanVleet. Defensively, Nembhard likes what he sees from New Orleans Pelicans pest Jose Alvarado, who picks up ballhandlers full court and stays attached to their chests once they cross the half-court line. There's one other player Nembhard models his game after, too. Advertisement 'Obviously, my brother,' he said. Andrew Nembhard is three years older than Ryan. The Indiana Pacers took him with the 31st pick in the 2022 NBA draft. A 6-foot-4 combo guard, Andrew has become an essential part of a Pacers team that advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals a year ago and were one win away from being crowned NBA champions in June. Ryan attended Game 7 of the NBA Finals in Oklahoma City. As gut-wrenching as it was to watch Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton go down with an Achilles tear in the first quarter, Nembhard was still proud that his older brother's team had the 68-win Thunder on the ropes before the injury. 'Everyone thought Indy was going to be out and it was going to be a quick series,' Nembhard said. 'They showed their fight.' Boyle coached both Nembhard brothers at Montverde. Before the 2022 NBA Draft, he warned teams not to discount how much Andrew could impact a game's outcome. Before this year's draft, he was spreading a similar message about Ryan. 'With Andrew, I was telling so many teams to draft him and take him,' Boyle said. 'About three teams came to me and said, 'We should have took him.' Both brothers are elite at decision-making and knowing how to play.' In the Mavericks' first Summer League game against the Los Angeles Lakers, Nembhard showed his savviness. He played on and off the ball, with Dallas giving heavy point guard reps to No. 1 pick Cooper Flagg. Nembhard finished with 21 points on 8-of-14 shooting and five assists. While he had a bad game against the San Antonio Spurs two days later (scoring two points on 1-of-10 shooting), Nembhard rebounded Monday against the Charlotte Hornets, tallying 11 points and eight assists in Dallas' loss. 'He has such a command of the game and command of the floor,' said Mavericks assistant Josh Broghamer, who's coaching Dallas in Las Vegas. 'He's always going to have those guys set. Where he wants them to be. And he's already reading that second, that third layer of the defense before he comes off (the screen).' Advertisement Nembhard faces an uphill battle in the NBA because of his size. But the Canadian pick-and-roll maestro has a chance to make an impact in the league because of his headiness. Kyrie Irving is expected to be sidelined for most of the upcoming season while he recovers from a torn ACL. The Mavericks signed D'Angelo Russell — another former Montverde player — to fill in at starting point guard in Irving's place. Behind Russell, the Mavericks have Dante Exum, Brandon Williams and potentially Nembhard, depending on how quickly he can adapt. 'They showed the most love (during the predraft process),' Nembhard said. 'I think they really wanted me. They showed the most care for me. And I feel like I have a chance to come do something over here.'
Washington Post
31-03-2025
- Sport
- Washington Post
Steve Turner leaves Gonzaga for Florida basketball power Montverde
Steve Turner likes mementos. The longtime Gonzaga basketball coach has collected plenty in his years on Eye Street, stockpiling trophies, jerseys, basketballs — anything to remind him of good times past. He even makes scrapbooks for each season, knowing that the press clippings and photos can transport him back to those winters whenever he likes. Now, after 26 years at Gonzaga — 21 as head coach — Turner will pack those memories away and bring them with him to Florida. After spending nearly half his life at the Northwest Washington private school, Turner, 53, is leaving for Montverde Academy, a Florida program considered one of the best in the country. 'I never really thought this day would come. I've always felt that I have the best job in the country here at Gonzaga,' Turner said. 'Being a part of this community, knowing these kids and this staff — this was home.' Turner said the opportunity came together quickly over the past two weeks. He recently flew to Florida for a visit and came away impressed at the school's operation beyond basketball. 'I've always been at a place where the whole school mattered,' Turner said. 'And if I was ever going to leave Gonzaga, it would have to be for a place like that. Once I was able to get that feeling from the community down there, it pulled me. … And I figured it's time for me to go out and do something I've always told my kids to do: be comfortable being uncomfortable.' The school recently announced that coach Kevin Boyle was leaving for Ohio's Spire Academy after 14 years at the helm. Boyle won eight of the past 12 national high school championships with Montverde, coaching NBA-bound stars such as Joel Embiid, Cade Cunningham and Cooper Flagg. '[Turner's] deep appreciation for the value of a college preparatory school environment and his commitment to nurturing student-athletes makes him a perfect fit for Montverde Academy,' Montverde Head of School Jon Hopman said in a statement. 'Coach Turner is what we call a transformational coach and mentor — one that will have a positive influence on his players … and the broader school community.' Turner took over Gonzaga's varsity team in 2004, inheriting a proud and successful program from longtime coach Dick Myers. Under Turner's leadership, the Eagles garnered national acclaim. But the coach, a Blair alum, always cared most about winning in his hometown. A fiery competitor, he relished the intensity of the Washington Catholic Athletic Conference, one of the country's most talented and competitive high school basketball leagues. 'There is nothing like the rivalries of the WCAC,' Turner said. 'Unless you're a part of it you won't understand it. I'll miss those packed houses and those teams. Fans going at me. I loved it.' He won the first of his four WCAC titles in 2008. He was named Gatorade's national coach of the year in 2016 and The Washington Post's All-Met Coach of the Year in 2019. He leaves Gonzaga with a record of 497-176 and a broad network of alumni playing across all levels of basketball. 'He's been one of the staples of the basketball scene in the DMV,' said Sidwell Friends Coach Eric Singletary, who previously served as an assistant under Turner. 'It's hard to think of Gonzaga without thinking of Steve Turner.' As his own program climbed the local and national ladders over the past decade, Singletary has had to face his former boss in several high-stakes meetings. A few weeks ago, Gonzaga topped Sidwell to win the D.C. State Athletic Association championship and snap the Quakers' streak of three straight titles. The win was Turner's third and final D.C. state crown. 'When you play a Steve Turner team, you know that because of his competitiveness his team is going to be competitive and well prepared,' Singletary said. 'You're going to face a team with an unbelievable tradition, so they believe they should win every time they play. You have to beat them because they're not going to beat themselves.' Turner produced a steady stream of Division I players over the years, molding All-Met talents Tyler Thornton (Duke), Kris Jenkins (Villanova) and Chris Lykes (Miami). 'He's a legend,' said Terrance Williams II, who played for Gonzaga from 2016 to 2020 and is now at USC. 'He leaves a legacy at Gonzaga. … I think when people talk about his teams, they'll say we were disciplined. We stayed within a system, and it worked.' This season, the Eagles were led by a starting lineup of five Division I-bound seniors. The Eagles (29-5) finished as D.C. state champions, WCAC runners-up and the No. 2 team in The Washington Post's local rankings. Turner was named WCAC coach of the year for a sixth time. 'Outside of all the accolades, his teams always stayed together and played gritty basketball,' senior Nyk Lewis said. 'You always knew we were going to want it more than the other team.' Turner said he will finish out the school year at Gonzaga before heading south. 'I'm looking forward to really saying goodbye to people, not just packing up and leaving,' Turner said. 'That way I can make it clear to them that I'm gone but I'm not. I'm just a phone call away.'
USA Today
28-03-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
2023-24 Montverde team sees strong presence in March Madness including Cooper Flagg, Derik Queen
2023-24 Montverde team sees strong presence in March Madness including Cooper Flagg, Derik Queen Show Caption Hide Caption Cooper Flagg's mom on her son's journey with the Duke Blue Devil's Duke star Cooper Flagg has led the Blue Devils to a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament and his mom explains what the journey has been like. Sports Seriously Cooper Flagg, Derik Queen, Liam McNeeley and Asa Newell all led their teams to the men's NCAA Tournament in 2025, with Flagg and Queen still alive as the Sweet 16 gets underway. The group of true freshmen were some of the best players of the 2024-25 college basketball season and are all projected first-round picks as one-and-done prospects. Fans might be wondering why those are four being grouped together. Well, they were all teammates at one point in time. REQUIRED READING: Cooper Flagg's mom and Duke superfan offers tips for sports parents And that was only a year ago. Flagg, Queen, McNeeley and Newell — all five-star prospects and freshmen studs this season — played at Montverde Academy last season, a prep school in Montverde, Florida. As expected, they dominated their competition, finishing the 2023-24 season with a 33-0 record, winning all but three games by double-digits. Here's a look back at the NCAA Tournament participants' time as teammates at Montverde, with Flagg and Queen hoping to lead Duke and Maryland, respectively, to the Elite Eight: 2023-24 Montverde roster, revisited Flagg, Queen, McNeeley and Newell were all rated as five-star recruits, all ranked inside the top 20 of 247Sports' Composite rankings. Fans know Flagg as the projected No. 1 pick in the upcoming NBA draft and potential player of the year candidate at Duke, who's leading the Blue Devils against Arizona on Thursday in the Sweet 16. Queen, a 6-foot-10 forward, made a fadeaway game-winning shot at the buzzer in Maryland's second-round win over Colorado State. McNeeley and UConn fell to 1-seed Florida in the second round and Newell and Georgia lost to Gonzaga in the first round. Put those four on the same roster, and you have one of the best high school teams ever assembled. Of course, Montverde is known for producing high-end NBA talent, as players like No. 1 picks Cade Cunningham and Ben Simmons, and Joel Embiid, R.J. Barrett, D'Angelo Russell and Scottie Barnes, to name a few, attended the prep school. Flagg led the team averaging 16.5 points per game last season at Montverde, with Queen right behind at 16.4 points. McNeeley and Newell averaged 12.5 and 11.4 points per game, respectively, as well. Baylor guard Robert Wright, who scored 19 points in the Bears' first-round win over Mississippi State, also played at Montverde last season, although he's not yet at the same level of NBA projection as his four former teammates yet. LSU guard Curtis Givens also played at Montverde during the 2023-24 season. "They would have been the modern-day Fab Five," Arizona Compass Prep coach Pete Kaffey told Yahoo Sports earlier this season. Those four players were all stars in their first college season and yet had to fight for shots last season for a high school program. 2023-24 Montverde roster college stats Here are the college stats of each member of Montverde's big four from this season:
Washington Post
18-03-2025
- Sport
- Washington Post
Coach of suspended sprinter faces punishment following investigation
Track and field's global anti-doping body suspended a high-profile American high school coach Tuesday after alleging he possessed a banned substance that three of his athletes — including suspended record-breaking sprint phenom Issam Asinga — tested positive for within a 13-month span. After an investigation alongside the United States Anti-Doping Agency, the Athletics Integrity Unit handed Monteverde Academy Coach Gerald Phiri a provisional suspension. The AIU alleged Phiri possessed multiple banned drugs that modulate metabolism and failed to 'cooperate with the investigation by providing false and inaccurate information.' The AIU said it opened an investigation after three of Phiri's athletes tested positive for GW1516 — a drug, known as cardarine, that alters how the body metabolizes fat — between July 2023 and August 2024. The AIU alleged that Phiri, a former Zambian Olympian, possessed GW1516 as an athlete in 2018 and 2019 and possessed meldonium, another banned metabolism drug, in 2024. Phiri plans to appeal the suspension, Montverde Sports Information Manager Michael Damon said in an emailed statement. In July 2023, when he was a sprinter at Montverde, Asinga tested positive for GW1516, which nullified his under-20 world record in the 100 meters and cost him a chance to compete at last year's Paris Olympics for Suriname, his father's native country and the flag he chose to compete under. World Athletics suspended Asinga in May last year. Asinga's final appeal will be heard later this year at the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Switzerland. The case is expected to be heard in April, according to public filings. Asinga sued Gatorade last summer, claiming he had ingested GW1516 through a contaminated package of energy gummies given to him at a Gatorade awards ceremony. (A lab tested the gummies and informed the AIU that they returned positive for GW1516.) Asinga also claimed the gummies were labeled falsely as certifiably tested and that Gatorade delayed in providing Asinga materials he could have used to prove his innocence. Gatorade called the claims 'false.' The lawsuit remains ongoing in the Southern District of New York. Gatorade filed a motion to dismiss the suit in early January. Asinga's lawyers responded in filings that the motion should be denied and 'Issam's claims should move to discovery, where he can begin to learn more about how and why his life became derailed by Gatorade's dangerous product.' Phiri joined Montverde Academy, a Florida prep school known for its elite athletic program, as an assistant coach in 2018 and became the head track and field coach in 2021. Phiri ran collegiately for Texas A&M and represented Zambia at the 2012 and 2016 Olympics. 'As this is an ongoing investigation, we have not been provided with any substantive details at this time,' Damon said in the statement. 'In compliance with the suspension, Coach Phiri will also be suspended from Montverde Academy and will not have any personal contact with our student-athletes pending the outcome of the investigation.' GW1516 is illegal for use in food or medication in the United States. According to USADA, it was pulled from clinical trials after it caused cancer when tested on animals.
Yahoo
21-02-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
How good would Cooper Flagg's prep team have been if it stayed together in college? 'Modern-day Fab Five'
How good would Cooper Flagg's prep team have been if it stayed together in college? 'Modern-day Fab Five' They joked about it on and off throughout their march to an undefeated season. 'What if we all played together in college?' Montverde Academy's six prized seniors would say to each other last year as they mowed through fellow prep school powerhouses on their way to being crowned the nation's best high school basketball team. It wasn't even just the Montverde 6 who daydreamed about that tantalizing yet impractical possibility. Players recall Montverde coach Kevin Boyle bringing up the idea in jest 13 months ago when the team traveled to Maine for a pair of games. Advertisement 'Imagine if you guys all went to the University of Maine together,' Boyle told them. 'You could take Maine to the NCAA tournament.' If only those Montverde seniors weren't so deep into the recruiting process already. If only that talk had been more than just idle chatter. Because the core of that Montverde team banding together in college and trying to make a Final Four would have been absolutely riveting. The seniors on last year's Montverde team have been some of this college basketball season's most productive freshmen. All six are starting as freshmen for high-major teams. Five average at least 12 points per game. Four are projected first-round picks in the 2025 NBA Draft. One is a near-lock to go No. 1 overall. Advertisement Of course, the headliner is Cooper Flagg, the breathlessly hyped Duke freshman who if anything has exceeded expectations this season. The national player of the year favorite averages 19.7 points and is the leader in every major statistical category for a Duke team on track to earn a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament. Montverde High School went undefeated last season with a rotating cast of star players. (Bruno Rouby/Yahoo Sports) Skilled, versatile center Derik Queen averages 16.1 points and 8.8 rebounds as the interior focal point of 20th-ranked Maryland's efficient attack. Productive power forward Asa Newell has racked up six double-doubles to keep Georgia in contention for an NCAA bid. Sweet-shooting wing Liam McNeeley leads UConn in scoring at 15.4 points per game and has increased that average to 21.8 since returning from an ankle injury. Guards Robert Wright III of Baylor and Curtis Givens of LSU aren't potential 2025 lottery picks like their former high school teammates, but they too have hope of playing in the NBA someday. Wright recently torched Kansas for 24 points and 6 assists. Givens has flashed playmaking and defensive talent as a part-time starter. Advertisement How competitive could the Montverde 6 be if they had united once more at the college level rather than scattering to different power-conference programs? 'I feel like we would have been top 25,' Queen told Yahoo Sports. 'I definitely think we could make it to at least the Sweet 16,' Wright echoed. Those predictions are too conservative, Arizona Compass Prep coach Pete Kaffey told Yahoo Sports. Kaffey, whose team lost twice to Montverde last season, argued that last year's Montverde players could have formed 'one of the top teams in college basketball' had they stayed together one more season. 'They would have been the modern-day Fab Five,' Kaffey said. How Montverde 6 ended up at prolific NBA pipeline There was a mantra that Cooper Flagg's parents adopted years ago even before they realized that they were raising a basketball phenom. Advertisement 'We would always say that if Cooper's the best player in a gym, we've gotta go find another gym for him to get into,' mom Kelly Flagg told Yahoo Sports earlier this season. At first, that meant challenging Cooper to play against kids two and three years older than him. Then the Flaggs helped form a club program that traveled to out-of-state tournaments in search of more competition and exposure than their native Maine could provide. By the time Cooper coasted to a state title as a freshman at Nokomis High, the Flaggs realized that he and twin brother Ace needed to leave Maine altogether to maximize their potential. The search for a more challenging environment led the Flaggs to send their sons to Montverde. The Orlando-area K-through-12 boarding school had become a magnet for top-tier basketball talent from all over the world by pouring millions of dollars into its athletic facilities, hiring renowned coaches and aligning with Nike. Joel Embiid, Ben Simmons and Cade Cunningham all passed through Montverde on their way to NBA riches. The school put 16 alums on NBA opening day rosters this season, more than the likes of UCLA, Kansas, Indiana and North Carolina. The story of how the rest of last year's seniors landed at Montverde isn't all that different from how the basketball powerhouse attracted Flagg. Queen was the first to join Montverde after leading St. Frances Academy in Baltimore to an undefeated regular season as a ninth grader. A Montverde assistant coach scouted Queen and eagerly extended an invitation to the MaxPreps national freshman of the year before the 2021-22 school year. McNeeley, Newell, Givens and Flagg all joined Montverde the following year. Like Flagg, the other three came in search of elite coaching and stronger competition. Advertisement 'Everybody knows Montverde — it's a pipeline,' said Newell, a native of Athens, Georgia, to Yahoo Sports. 'I wouldn't say it was an easy decision leaving my hometown and moving down to the Orlando area, but I knew if I'm playing for someone like Coach Boyle and playing against the best players in practice, it would definitely mold me into a better player.' The experience of leaving friends and family behind and moving to an unfamiliar city made the Montverde players more tight-knit than the average high school team. So did enduring Boyle's famously intense practices and conditioning sessions together. As Newell points out, 'When you first get there, you don't know anyone else. Your only true friends are really the basketball team.' Endless hours in the gym helped Montverde earn the No. 1 seed at Geico Nationals in 2023, but a stunning quarterfinal loss against eighth-seeded Sunrise Christian shattered the Eagles' hopes of capturing a championship. They blew a six-point lead in the final minute of a painful 46-45 loss. A four-point play from Matas Buzelis and a right-wing transition 3-pointer from Scotty Middleton propelled Sunrise Christian into the lead. Montverde had one final chance but Queen's heavily contested driving layup caromed hard off the backboard and didn't fall, nor did Flagg's rushed but wide-open put-back attempt at the buzzer. Advertisement The memory of that upset loss fueled Montverde the following season. 'We couldn't lose back-to-back years,' Queen said. 'We had to come back and learn from our mistakes.' Capping off an undefeated run with a title To Arizona Compass Prep coach Pete Kaffey, superior talent alone didn't make Montverde unbeatable last season. Kaffey also points to the fact that so many key players were in their second or third season in Boyle's system. 'Whenever you get super-talented guys for more than a year in our world, the prep world, that makes a huge difference,' Kaffey said. The Montverde coaches only recruited one key player to join last season's returning quintet of Flagg, Queen, McNeeley, Newell and Givens. They persuaded Wright to come try to win at the highest level of high school basketball after the Philadelphia product earned Pennsylvania state player of the year honors as a junior. Advertisement The addition of Wright gave Montverde a second playmaking guard who could attack the rim and produce open looks for himself or others. Wright essentially became the team's sixth starter, meaning that on any given night a different member of the Montverde 6 — yes, even Flagg — would come off the bench. 'Everybody sacrificed,' Newell said. 'We all knew that going in, but we all wanted to be part of something great.' The team that Boyle put on the floor last season might only be rivaled in prep basketball history by Montverde's famed 2019-20 team. That team featured future No. 1 overall draft pick Cade Cunningham and fellow future NBA players Scottie Barnes, Moses Moody, Day'Ron Sharpe and Dariq Whitehead. Montverde was a dominant 25-0 that year before the COVID-19 pandemic halted the season early. By comparison, last year's Montverde team won all 33 games it played by an average of nearly 30 points apiece. Only 10 of Montverde's victories were by fewer than 20 points. Only three were by single digits. Advertisement In the title game at nationals, Montverde's hero was the least heralded member of its six-man rotation. Givens hit six 3-pointers and erupted for a game-high 24 points off the bench to help the Eagles complete an undefeated season and capture the championship that had eluded them the previous year. 'That was a really good day,' Queen said. 'It was like, 'bout time. We worked hard for it. We talked about it every day nonstop. When the time came, we all did what we had to do.' That may be the last time that the Montverde 6 played for the same team, but the bonds they built remain strong. As college freshmen, they watch as many of each other's games as they can and check box scores whenever they miss one. They text or Facetime regularly and comment on each other's social media pages. 'We were the only people we had down there at Montverde, so we did everything together,' Wright said. 'It definitely brought us closer together. It made us all brothers.' Advertisement We'll never know what that group could have accomplished playing together for one season in college, but now Queen has a different goal. Next month, he wants to gain NCAA tournament bragging rights over as many of his former high school teammates as possible. Said Queen with a laugh, 'I want to play all of them.'
