MitchMash: What is Prolific Prep?

Since the nation's No. 1 incoming junior basketball recruit announced officially last month that he was leaving Consortium College Prep (Detroit) for Prolific Prep in Napa, California, the natural and most pressing question from the high school basketball world has been: "What is Prolific Prep?"

To that end, we went directly to the source — the basketball academy's founders, Jeremy Russotti and Philippe Doherty — for answers about this new spot that Josh Jackson has left Detroit for.

We couldn't get all of them unraveled because, well, it's a first-year operation and helping to relocate and situate a dozen or so elite high school-aged basketball players – and in some case their families – from all over the country and abroad meets many challenges and roadblocks.

Doherty, scheduled to be the team's coach, said the biggest challenge isn't finding their kids to play or residency.

"It's perception," he said. "Most people don't understand or know what we're all about. There are different models (of academies) throughout the country. Many people assume they're all affiliated with professional agents and college boosters. We're not that. We just want to train those who are extremely serious about getting better and who have a central focus in aspiring to maximize their talents."

Sports academies aren't exactly embraced around the United States. Far from it. It's diametrically different than the traditional high school sports system, where athletes play for their school, hometown and community in a place they were raised, where their siblings, cousins, parents and even grandparents attended.

Academies and prep schools are generally for the upper echelon and the gifted, a place to refine and polish elite skills and God-given talents, ones the mainstream have difficulty relating to.

Thus, there is a natural divide.

For every sports academy or prep school that has succeeded over time, such as the pinnacle, IMG Academy (Bradenton, Fla.) that features numerous sports or basketball academy Findlay Prep (Henderson, Nev.), there have been several flops and horror stories, many of which have been published in large metropolitan newspapers.

La Jolla Prep Academy, Kingdom Prep Academy and W. Virginia Prep Academy are such examples.

The latest exposé on a non-traditional academy, a charter school with a different model than Prolific Prep, was done in the New York Times on Sunday about Prime Prep Academy, founded by Deion Sanders in Dallas.

Most of the horrors revolve around academics and college transcripts and unkept promises by organizers.

Russotti and Doherty say they simply want a fair shake, to not be immediately lumped in with the "bad guys," for a chance to get their program off the ground. They've invested countless hours, buckets of money and, perhaps, most important, their strong reputations. It's been a combined 30 years of service.

They acknowledge profusely they are not a school, but an "after-school" program, one they say "is somewhat similar to how the elite European sports academies are set up, where school and sports are separated," the two wrote in a press release. "You go to a normal high school but after the school bell rings, you get some of the best instruction from the best experts in the sport."

Russotti's reputation as a top basketball trainer nationally is well documented. A former high school coach at Casa Grande (Petaluma, Calif.), he largely groomed North Bay players Angelo Tsagarakis (Oregon State, Pro A in France) and Josh Akognon (Washington State, Cal State Fullerton, NBA, China) to the highest levels.l

As his stature and Green Room Training business grew over the last three years, elite youth players such as Shabazz Muhammad and Jackson flocked to Sonoma County to train with him. Most of it was over spring and summer months.

"Many kids didn't want to leave," Russotti said. "Many of their parents asked if their son could train with us year-round."

Combined with the high energy, expertise and gold reputation of Doherty, who was raised in a coaching family, coached at Sacred Heart Cathedral (San Francisco) and the University of San Francisco, the pair said the idea of forming an academy was born.

Three years later, it's full speed ahead for the pair of 30-something family men. They hope to clear the roadblocks by the end of the month.

Here are 10 questions many followers may want answered.

1. Is Prolific Prep a non-profit organization?

Yes. A 501(c)(3) program under the current placeholder name of "One Percent Academy," which will be changed to "Prolific Prep" in September. When Doherty and Russotti applied months ago, several names were being considered.

2. How many players will PP have and where are they from?

Other than Jackson, no other players will be announced until later this month, Russotti said. There will be 10 to 13 high school-aged players coming from all over the country and perhaps internationally, they say. This week, Algevon Eichelberger, a top 2016 recruit from Saginaw (Mich.)., announced on Twitter that he'll be attending Prolific Prep. Another Southern California standout, incoming senior guard Kyle Leufroy (23.2 points per game), has left St. Francis (La Canada) to play at Prolific Prep, several newspapers reported. 

3. Who will PP play?

Like other prep schools or academies, PP will not be sanctioned by a state association (in this case the California Interscholastic Federation), thus it will play other prep schools throughout the country. It will compete in the PEC6 (Prep Elite Conference) with teams from Nevada and California. It also plans to compete in major national invitationals with schools like Findlay Prep and Montverde Academy, but nothing has been finalized.

4. Where will the players attend school?

This is the most pressing question and one still up in the air. Jackson said he has been accepted and will attend Justin-Siena (Napa, Calif.), a CIF school which just opened a boarding program. Justin-Siena President Robert Jordan told the San Francisco Chronicle there is no formal partnership between his school and Prolific Prep, stating he couldn't comment on specific students living on campus. Russotti too said he couldn't comment.

5. Who will the players be living with?

According to Russotti, it's split between host families, families of players who are moving from other parts of the country and, in the case of Jackson, at Justin-Siena.

6. Will there be anyone else helping out with the team?

Jonus Honick, who won more than 600 games and three straight small-school titles at Branson (Ross, Calif.), will contribute.

7. How good is Jackson and how did he hook up with Prolific Prep?

The 6-foot-6 guard is the projected as the No. 1 pick in the 2017 NBA draft. He averaged 28 points and 14 rebounds last season for Consortium, leading the team to a state title. He's arguably been the top U17 player the last week in Dubai. He had 16 points and 11 rebounds in a 124-64 win over the Philippines.

According to Russotti, Jackson came to train with him last summer "and simply fell in love with our teaching style and curriculum. ... (Josh's mom) simply felt that her son needed that kind of specialized training."

8. What kind of kids is PP trying to attract?

Besides the athletically gifted, Russotti said all of the American players they selected this season – he said he received more than 100 requests and inquiries – boasted GPAs between 3.7 and 4.0 last year. "It's top one percent of top one percent across the board," he said. "It's not just basketball."

9. How much does PP cost and how is it funded?

Russotti wouldn't give exact disclosures on the costs, but said "we're a quarter" of what other prep schools and academies charge.

He said his academy is funded in a variety of ways, largely by the company he owns, Global Sports Innovations, which represents five different training products. Donations have also come from families, Russotti said.

On top of that, "we have had multiple fundraisers already and running fundraiser camps all year long," Russotti said. "We are working on a long-term fundraising plan with a group currently, and corporate donations as well."

He said he's not anticipating to profit any money this academy year and that it's not his chief motivation now or in the future.

"My dad has hot rods and I have a prep school," he said. "Cars make him happy and training elite athletes makes me happy. It's exciting for me. I've been doing this for 15 years now. I've worked hard to make this work. I've earned it. This is the pinnacle for me, this is the end game, this is my all-time fantasy job."

10. What is the reaction of Northern California coaches?

It's wait and see. Two schools and coaches who could consider Prolific Prep a particular threat to take players – Lou Richie at Bishop O'Dowd (Oakland, Calif.) and Tim Kennedy at Archbishop Mitty (San Jose, Calif.) — have friendships with either Russotti or Doherty.

Ivan Rabb, one of the nation's top five 2015 recruits and who plays with Jackson on the U17 USA Team, attends O'Dowd. Mitty is where Aaron Gordon, the No. 4 pick of the 2014 NBA Draft, attended.

Richie, who has worked many camps with Doherty and Russotti and considers them friends, lost Brandon Ashley (now at Arizona) to Findlay Prep his senior season, when many thought O'Dowd had a good shot at a state title.

"I was crushed then, but I could handle that situation a lot better now," Richie said. "I would hope if they were talking to one of my kids about attending I would at least get a call."

Richie and Kennedy recognize that young elite athletes are looking at different methods to get an edge. That said, Richie, Kennedy and De La Salle's (Concord, Calif.) Frank Allocco, who has more than 700 wins and coached the McDonald's All-American team in the spring, are at least three Northern California coaches with elite training reputations already in place at private schools.

Often public school communities wave their fingers at them for "stealing" their players. Now they might be looking over their shoulders at Northern California's first basketball academy.

Richie, for one, wishes Prolific Prep well.

"It will be interesting if the business model works," Richie said. "It's definitely an innovative new idea. I'm anxious for Jeremy's and Phil's success."