Justin Bocot

[tornado]

New rumors about Justin Bocot....PM me for the inside scoop unless it's already in your e mailbox

(BTW-- my son took his ACT on Feb 10, and just got his results, so this news ties in with the fact that JB undoubtedly just got his numbers back, too.)

[Da Coach]

A discussion on the SIU board says that Justin Bocot did not improve his ACT score on the last attempt (the last one was given April 14). So he will not qualify to play next season at SIU and cannot receive a scholarship. He may enroll and pay his own way, but he would not be allowed to practice or play with the team, and it could get expensive, even at a state school.

I would look for him to opt for a prep school.

http://www.salukitalk.net/st/viewtopic.php?t=14432

[tornado]

I am hearing that he is exploring prep schools having seen the offers that went towards Dentmon, Tabb, and Dunson.

[DannyCooksey]

I am hearing that he is exploring prep schools having seen the offers that went towards Dentmon, Tabb, and Dunson.

Hopefully for his sake he studies better than Dunson

[tornado]

And takes some tougher courses than weightlifting 101 like a some recruits do.

[flipper]

how much do prep schools cost and who pays for that?

[DannyCooksey]

how much do prep schools cost and who pays for that?

often times a 'friend of the program' or something along those lines. From my understanding, they are expensive as all get out.

[tornado]

I did a search on that within the past year and found that Boys to Men is one of the lowest cost of all.

Their tuition was $3,500 and that included even room and board.

http://prepsports.stltoday.com/ssi/prep/stories2006.nsf/basketballshootout/story/A0C6219ACB1BED56862570B40059C493?OpenDocument

But BTMA is not elite, it isn't graduating scholars, and they use simple rented space and gyms, so kids keep costs down.
The developer of BTMA obviously does not want excess costs to cover.

But most others are in the $4000-$8000+ range with the very elite academic schools at $20,000 to $30,000
(per this story in Forbes)

http://www.forbes.com/2006/12/09/private-schools-most-expensive-biz-cx_tvr_1211prep.html

Here are some specific examples:
Brewster Academy - Tuition= $21,760, Tuition with board=$36,730

http://www.brewsteracademy.org/applying/a_valuable_investment/tuition/index.html

Oak Hill - Tuition with board=$18,300.00

http://www.oak-hill.net/fees.htm

South Kent - Tuition=$19,900, Tuition with board=$29,000

http://www.boardingschoolreview.com/school_ov/school_id/127

Winchendon Prep - Tuition=$ 21,250, Tuition with board=$35,500

http://www.boardingschoolreview.com/school_ov/school_id/301

As to who pays....your guess is as good as mine, but here is my guess.
I think in many cases it is the people I have referred to as "handlers" or AAU people, or "coaches" who might just somehow have an agreement to get their investment back if and when their preppies hit the big payday.

[flipper]

sounds like going to an inferior state school might be less expensive than prep school.

[Da Coach]

Most of those prep schools are primarily focused on academics and have been around for many years. They are far more expensive than any state college. Their costs are similar to many elite private colleges. Just in recent years some "prep schools" have emerged that are primarily basketball "diploma mills", that are not focused on academics. Those are the ones the NCAA has begun an initiative to scrutinize the transcripts of their students.

[tornado]

One such school that will from now on be severely scrutinized by the NCAA is the "prep school" that the Iowa State recruit Brister came from, see the link in this post:

http://www.al.com/sports/birminghamnews/index.ssf?/base/sports/1177575396295170.xml&coll=2

http://www.bradleyfans.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?t=7460

[Da Coach]

I love the quote below from the basketball coach and founder of God's Academy in Dallas, the so-called prep school Brister came from--

Tim Miller, an AAU basketball coach who created God's Academy in 2005, disputes the findings and plans to appeal. He said the NCAA has been on a "witch hunt" since Mayfield was mentioned in a New York Times article exposing the lack of academic rigor at some nontraditional schools.

"The NCAA came to our school way back in October and they're making a ruling based on October," Miller said. "We've already made changes. There's a lot of stuff we fixed. We've sent all the information and it's like they ain't looked at it."

"It's like they ain't looked at it"?
I hope this guy isn't the English teacher at God's Academy!
Just reading this makes me think the NCAA is finally doing something worthwhile by policing these diploma mills.

[meth]

If it called God's Academy, then are we to presume they never do anything wrong?

[Average Joe]

Here are a couple facts revealed in a Dallas newspaper story on God's Academy.

They don't have an Academy at all, they simply operate out of the Irving Recreation Center. Basically they use a basketball court as their school, and all the coursework is just handed to kids who are for the most part homeschooled on their coursework.

"An official with the Irving parks and recreation department said God's Academy was never authorized to conduct classes at its West Park Recreation Center."

"Opposing coaches in a tournament in December...were surprised and upset to see the God's Academy Ambassadors show up with two fifth-year seniors who had signed Division I letters of intent a month earlier...."


President Tim Miller has a short bio on their website, and this is the entire bio
"Coach Tim Miller has been coaching since 1984. Coach Tim has won several National championships. Coach Tim has coached girls and boys. He has won over 2000 games in AAU select basketball as well as high school basketball."
There is little info at all on their web site except for basketball stuff.


Tuition is $7000 per student per year