Mike Foustoukos: Lawrence Academy Basketball HC on Reclassing, D1 Guards & NCAA Changes

Mike Foustoukos, head coach of Lawrence Academy Basketball, joins Cory Heitz to discuss reclassing, what D1 guards need, player development, college placement, and how possible NCAA eligibility changes could affect recruits.

Across the conversation, Mike explains why Lawrence Academy aims to prepare students for more than the next game. He covers the school’s community and RISE mission, multi-sport participation, honest playing-time expectations, strength and skill development, film study, and finding a college where each student-athlete can thrive.

Mike also breaks down what college coaches want in a point guard, including versatile defense, reliable shooting, off-ball impact, passing, maturity, and leadership. For families considering reclassification or a post-grad path, this episode highlights the physical, mental, academic, and long-term factors that should shape the decision.

Subscribe to PREP Athletics and visit prepathletics.com to sign up for the newsletter and find more guidance about prep school basketball and college recruiting.

⏰ Timestamps:
00:00 - Episode Introduction
01:19 - Mike’s Basketball Journey
03:34 - Why Lawrence Academy Stands Out
07:19 - Kevin’s Coaching Legacy
09:50 - How Lawrence Academy Develops Players
12:19 - Multi-Sport Expectations and Earning Minutes
15:13 - College Placement and Reclassing
18:19 - What D1 Guards Need
19:59 - The Future of Prep School Basketball
21:21 - Should March Madness Expand?
23:13 - How NCAA Eligibility Changes Could Affect Recruits
26:22 - Basketball Quick Hitters
28:48 - College Ready. Life Ready.

📌 Key Topics:
• Lawrence Academy Basketball and the RISE mission
• Prep school basketball player development
• Multi-sport participation and playing time
• Finding the right academic and basketball fit
• Whether basketball players should reclass
• What college coaches want in a point guard
• Possible NCAA eligibility changes
• Preparing student-athletes for college and life

🏀 About Mike:
Mike Foustoukos is the head basketball coach at Lawrence Academy and also teaches history. He grew up in Southern Maine, took a preferred walk-on spot at Merrimack, and later played briefly at Southern Maine before beginning his work at Lawrence Academy.

🔗 Connect with Mike:
X | https://x.com/CoachStouks?lang=en
Instagram | https://www.instagram.com/coachstouks/?hl=en
Email | mfoustoukos@lacademy.edu
Hoops IG | https://www.instagram.com/laspartansbb/
Hoops X | https://x.com/lacademyhoops

🎙️ About PREP Athletics:
At PREP Athletics, we help young athletes and their families understand the prep school path and how it can create better opportunities in the classroom, on the court, and in the college recruiting process. We talk about prep schools, post-grad years, reclassing, recruiting, academics, AAU, NCAA updates, and the decisions families need to understand before choosing a path.

Our goal is to help players find the right fit, not just any placement. We share honest, experience-based guidance for families trying to navigate prep school basketball, college recruiting, exposure, development, and the steps that can help student-athletes move closer to their goals.

#LawrenceAcademyBasketball #PrepSchoolBasketball #BasketballRecruiting #Reclassing #CollegeBasketball #PREPAthletics

🔗 Connect with Cory:
 
Website | https://www.prepathletics.com
Twitter | https://twitter.com/PREP_Athletics
Instagram | https://www.instagram.com/prep.athletics/
Facebook | https://www.facebook.com/PrepAthletics
Email | coryheitz@gmail.com
Phone | 859-317-1166

🔖 Subscribe to the PREP Athletics Podcast:

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Transcript

Episode Introduction

SPEAKER_01 0:00

Hey friends, welcome to this week's episode of the Prep Athletics Podcast. I'm proud to have joining us Lawrence Academy's coach, Mike Festukas. And Mike joins us uh and shares with us his uh you know the background on his school, Lawrence Academy, both as a school and as a basketball program. And we touched on his upbringing to two Air Force military parents. So he moved around a little bit before settling in southern Maine. Tells us about his college experience, and then all the ins and outs of Lawrence Academy. We've got a great tradition there. We talked about Kevin Wersinski, who unfortunately uh passed away in August, who was the previous head coach for a while, and all the other stuff you've known to love from this podcast, all the good information we share on these coaches and these programs. So if you like this, please share with somebody that might not listen to us yet, because there's a lot of good information in here, and enjoy our podcast. Welcome to the Prep Athletics Podcast. This is Corey Heights and battles. I'm not I'm not sure if they got us. If they did, maybe you will get better as a player during that year. So it was kind of exciting. Like, oh yeah, somebody wants me. Mike, welcome to the podcast. Thanks for having me on, Corey. Happy to be here. Yeah, now

Mike’s Basketball Journey

SPEAKER_01 1:19

where did you grow up and what got you into basketball?

SPEAKER_00 1:22

Yeah, so I I grew up in southern Maine, and I think the the joke of my family is I always had a basketball in my hands. Um bounced around a couple different I had military parents, so you know, first eight years was here, there, everywhere, settled uh up in Gorham, Maine. And I think what really helped basketball like take off for me was the very first friend that I made when I moved to Maine. His dad was the varsity head coach in our our hometown. So uh after he realized that I was gonna be pretty tall, you know, he made sure we stayed good friends. And uh after that I was I was really hooked and just dedicated to the game from there. What branch of the military were your parents in? They were both in the Air Force. Yeah, mom and dad both did uh dad did eight years, mom did her four. Um so we uh we lived in Germany for a little bit, Massachusetts, Virginia, um, kind of all over.

SPEAKER_01 2:10

Ah, cool to see other Air Force people uh in the world. So yeah. Um and you chose to go to Merrimack. What led to that decision?

SPEAKER_00 2:18

Yeah, so uh, you know, leaving high school, I think, you know, I I had really I was a little bit of a late bloomer, right? And so I didn't become athletic until really like my junior senior year, started to put everything together really around then, and um that's when kind of things took off a little bit, and um, took a preferred walk-on spot at Merrimack. Um, my dad lives close by, so I had some familiarity with the area, um, knew the area pretty well and decided to go there. Unfortunately, I had to medically retire, you know, um my freshman year, but um love the experience, love being around the team. The coaches and the coaching staff were great, um, and and you know, couldn't have asked for a better four years from there. Yeah, and then you went from there to Southern Maine, am I correct on that? Yeah, I did a brief stint in Southern Maine and and played there. Um and you know, I after medically retired, it was like I had this itch to still try and you know, cure or still try and be a part of of playing and contributing to a team, right? And um having that home. And so I needed to really be able to scratch that it. So I went back home for a bit and played there and and remembered, you know, kind of like a little bit of my passion, my why, and uh, I was able to move on from that, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 3:30

All right, and then from there you went to Lawrence Academy, and that's where you're at

Why Lawrence Academy Stands Out

SPEAKER_01 3:34

now as head coach. So give me your pitch on Lawrence Academy as a school and also your basketball program.

SPEAKER_00 3:40

Yeah, so I'd say as a school, like it's really fortunate to be here at Lawrence Academy. It's such a great, great place to be. And I think we one of the things that makes that so is our our community in our community, is so involved. It's really at the heart of everything that we do here at LA is community. Um, if you're coming to LA, you're gonna be involved and pushed out of your comfort zone to do things that you didn't thought you could do, and then eventually figure out that you can quicker all those things and do everything else. Um, and also that you're gonna get to experience and see some people do some pretty amazing things. Um, we had a lot of a couple of football players on our roster this year who really contributed a lot of great minutes and did a lot of the dirty work for us, but also got to play alongside uh uh McDonald's All-American finalists, right? Um got to be a part of a really special program, a special team. Uh we are a uh boarding and day school, so about half of our student population uh boards here on campus. Um we have international students who is here who are here. We also have uh a thriving day community nearby who comes and uh contributes as well. And so it's great for our players who aren't necessarily from here to be able to make local connections and people nearby. So if there's every weekend they need to get off campus or do something else, they always have a place and a friend to go. Um, you know, I'd say the other part about Lawrence Academy that's that's pretty great is that we're we're mission dedicated. It's at the heart of everything we do as well. And our mission to it's a brief acronym, it ends up being RISE, right? We recognize students and people for who they are, we inspire them for who they want to become, we support them along the way, and we empower them to lead the world a better place, right? And so we recognize our great athletes, our great students, our great musicians, our great actors and actresses, and the many special talents that make up this campus. Uh, we help inspire them and and to think of you know themselves and and their value in ways they may have not necessarily thought of before. Uh, support them with a plethora of of you know different options and and different ways that they can improve on what they want to improve on while becoming a well-rounded person. Um, and then with the connections that we have, the alumni base that we have, the the people who are here that help those students, you know, in the next you know, parts of their life, it's it's tremendous and a huge opportunity for people to be here. From a basketball standpoint, we have uh I think we're really in like the perfect spot, right? We compete in the ISL, which is uh an elite group of schools who all want to push themselves and push each other to be fantastic on the field, off the field, in the classroom. Um, you know, the campuses of some of these schools are are absolutely breathtaking. The alumni base is great too. Um, the resources are tremendous. And we also compete in Epstack AA. So when you're coming to LA, which uh I I would say pound for pound Epsteck AA is one of the best true high school leagues still remaining in the country, right? You're going to class Monday through Friday, you're competing, you're riding a bus, you're competing against top-level talent. When we go and play cushing, you're playing against, and you're on the floor, you're going against five scholarship players. When we play against Milton Academy in an ISL game, you're completely against a couple of scholarship players for basketball, but then a scholarship lacrosse player, a scholarship football player, um, and all college athletes. So when you come to LA, you're going to get prepared for college in a variety of ways. And it's it's a special place where everyone is invested in the success of our students, the success of our athletes, the success of our artists, and all that they do.

SPEAKER_01 7:14

Yeah, I love it. Thanks for sharing all that. Now, the previous coach, Kevin Rzinski, sadly

Kevin’s Coaching Legacy

SPEAKER_01 7:19

passed away from cancer last August. Tell me about your relationship with him and what you learned from him and his legacy there.

SPEAKER_00 7:25

And I was, I think I was incredibly lucky to spend the amount of time that I did with Kev and also feel cheated by only having a couple of years with him. So when I got hired here at Lawrence Academy, Kevin had decided to take a step away from being the basketball head coach, something he had previously done before, but he came back to be the head coach. Um his oldest son was entering his junior year in college, his youngest son was just getting ready to go to college to play lacrosse. His daughter was here, is still here, and and she was uh uh, you know, entering into the athletic field and playing more and more. So we wanted to be able to spend more time with this family and to see things. And I think if you talk to any of the coaches in the I cell or NEPSAG A, free time isn't a word we really have. Um so he but he wanted to be able to do that a little bit more. Uh coincidentally, we both teach history. So my desk was four feet away from his. Um, we taught one of the same classes together, so we planned a lot. We we did a lot together. Once I moved on campus, we became neighbors. Um, you know, in such a short amount of time, I was really able to find an incredible role model and mentor and friend, somebody who I could bounce ideas off of, and somebody who really carried no ego. I mean, he won 400 games here at Lawrence Academy, and you would have no idea. He coached four NBA draft picks and you would have no idea, right? Multiple New England championships, and he would never tell you and unless you asked. And then he would tell you all about it and he would know every single detail. Um, he was the you know, the light of every room you walked into, right? And and could always make people laugh. He was tremendous also, and I I this is one of the things I really took away. He's great at telling you what you needed to hear and not necessarily what you wanted to hear. And you could leave that conversation, be like, oh, like you know, I kind of really needed to hear that in a really great way. Um so just how he was able to manage all that w was tremendous too. I think the biggest lesson I took as well was keeping things simple, right? Coming in coming here and dealing with some high-level athletes and um uh knowing, you know, just how good they could be. Uh, you know, he was a big one of look, we always need to be able to execute all the fundamentals and do those at a high level because that is gonna raise your uh floor and that's gonna raise everybody else's ceiling, and that's gonna be a team that's really tough to beat. So I'll forever feel indebted for my time with Kevin and miss him every single day.

SPEAKER_01 9:44

Yeah, thanks for sharing those memories. Um let me ask you this uh something parents always ask me, and I know they've

How Lawrence Academy Develops Players

SPEAKER_01 9:50

asked you on your initial phone calls, but what do you do in terms of developing your players on the team?

SPEAKER_00 9:55

That's the heart of everything that we do at LA in terms of basketball, right? Like, you know, if you're coming to LA with basketball in mind and wanting to play college basketball, right? That's the ultimate goal. And I love winning and I despise losing, but seeing players progress and seeing players get better is ultimately you know what we're here for. It's not about my ego or or what we want to do as a team. So what we do for development in the ISL, we have some constraints about how much we can work with players. Um, how it works is that once a week, each coach can work with up to three athletes at a time. Well, that's great, right? So we have four coaches on our coaching staff, so our guys can get in the gym once a week every single month, right? With direct coaching about what we need to do to improve. Our guys also have a shooting program that they're they're pretty heavy in following, right? They have strength uh and conditioning. That's both a class or an afternoon activity that they can take as well as uh a little bit of a guide that they should be following in the summer, too. So we're gonna work on, you know, you've got to be able to shoot it, and we're gonna make sure that you're making your shots every single day, right? Um, you know, yeah, depending on the day and the activity of certain different number of shots. You're going to play in a system that's going to help you get better at becoming a full and you know, whole basketball player, we're not just gonna develop you for certain things that are gonna help you win. Uh you're you're gonna have your time really, really managed when you're here, um, and you're going to mature physically and mentally and to understand the game. We do a lot of film review with our guys to understand what works with us, but really what when we watch a lot of film, a lot of it also we watch clips of college teams, right? We'll watch clips of pro teams to see, hey, this is what we're trying to do. We watch a lot of other teams in our league too. You know, this is what they do, and this is one of the reasons they're so successful. Uh, this is what this team does. And look how they've won this rebounding battle, that rebounding battle, and that one. So if we want to be good, those are the things we have to do. Um, so so a lot of watching others and observing, you know, uh a lot of player development on the floor as well. Uh, our guys go up and down all the time, and then a lot of um, you know, weight room activity too to get these guys physically in the spot they need to be because the schedule's a grind and your body's got to be able to handle it.

SPEAKER_01 12:13

Yeah, I love that. Now, answer me this. Um, when you come to Lawrence Academy, do your players

Multi-Sport Expectations and Earning Minutes

SPEAKER_01 12:19

have to play multiple sports or can they just focus on basketball?

SPEAKER_00 12:22

Yeah, so they yes, you have to do uh an activity for every trimester that we have here. Um, how it's kind of broken down, right? We have those three seasons. You have to do two A sports and a B sport or A activities and a B activity. Now, those A's can vary in what they may look like, right? And so um I remember when when I first got here talking to some of the guys and seeing how they were doing. It was the springtime. Beautiful day outside, right? All the the trees are different colors, and um, you know, I'm getting ready for spring. And immediately, you know, I talk with Alex, and two seconds later, he's like, Well, I gotta go. I uh I'm a manager for the baseball team, I gotta run. Um, and so that can count as an activity, right? Um, you know, we like guys who are involved in different things. Um, you know, I I remember my first year here, a player also sent me a text that hey, I was thinking about playing football. How would you feel? And I was like, I love that, and that's what it's all about. Like, you're gonna be a contributor on the football team, uh, you're gonna do well. And then I thought about for a say, I was like, just make sure you play defense and you're the one hitting people, not getting hit. And and so he was a great contributor in addition to that football team. Um, and and so yeah, we have people who are involved in everything, and what that looked like could be a little bit different. The other um activity that we try and make sure our guys do uh in the fall, at least right before the the season starts, is that strength and conditioning because that can count as an A as well. Um that fills up pretty quick, and so a lot of times it's you know, you gotta be a little bit older, but good news is we have those older players who take it who can pass things down to the younger guys too.

SPEAKER_01 13:56

Yeah, thanks for sharing that. There are benefits to multiple sports, like you just mentioned. So another question I get, and I'm sure you get in every conversation with the family, is how do you determine playing time for your player or how do you discuss minutes when families ask about how many minutes their their son might get?

SPEAKER_00 14:13

Yeah, it's one of those questions that like it families can be kind of hesitant to talk about too, right? And it's something that I'm totally open and honest about. You're gonna compete every single day while you're here. Um, and our schedule is built in such a way that like we need guys to play minutes. Um we need guys who are gonna come in and compete. Um if you're able to do those little things and if you're able to hit the coaching points, right? Like you're gonna play and we're gonna need you to play. And and you know, that first game, it may be a little bit less than you think, right? But if we're able to have a conversation a little bit beforehand and we're able to set expectations, right? And while those expectations may not necessarily be what you want, guess what? There's gonna be more opportunities down the line. There's going to be more chances. So just stay ready and have your number call. Um, yeah, we're we're never gonna promise playing time to anybody, right? But we're always gonna promise the opportunity to go in and compete for playing time and to do so at a high level.

SPEAKER_01 15:08

All right. It's April 2026. What is your college placement strategy

College Placement and Reclassing

SPEAKER_01 15:13

when you talk to families in this current environment?

SPEAKER_00 15:16

Yeah, so we're trying to find the right fit, right? And we're trying to make sure that the students that we have aren't going to be bouncing around from here, there, and everywhere. Um, that when they go to college, especially in today's world, that they're gonna be able to find a place that they want to be able to call home for the next four years, unless something drastic should change, right? Um, something that should be comfortable. So we want to get like the entire picture of the student athlete first and find out more about them, you know, as a person, what they're interested in, right? Basketball is going to end eventually. So are you someone who is much more into business? And then what part of business are you into? Do you are you great at math and do you want to go into finance and accounting? Or do you see the value of something, maybe want to go into real estate? Are you somebody who uh maybe is more involved in the arts, right? And then maybe find a school that fits you better there, right? And so like it starts at that level, right? Then it's gonna start from a basketball, go to a basketball level after that, right? And then we're calling coaches, we're examining rosters, we're seeing what places may have the most opportunity for our guys that that fit our guys and and uh where we think that they could thrive, right? It doesn't benefit us to send somebody to a place that isn't gonna be beneficial for them and that they're gonna eventually want to come home to, right? And while there may be other extenuated circumstances to that, we want everybody to find a home for the next 40 years that they're gonna have as great an experience as I did, right? Or that they're gonna really love and enjoy.

SPEAKER_01 16:42

Yeah, it's a good strategy, especially in this day and age. So um what do you tell families when they ask if their underclassman son should reclassify or not?

SPEAKER_00 16:53

Well, ultimately that's their decision, right? Um at the end of the day. But I I absolutely think it is something that there's so many more advantages to doing it than not doing it. Again, you get the year of physical maturity, but on top of that, you get the year of mental maturity as well, right? And you get to know yourself, right? You get to have more self-awareness and to um understand your strengths and your weaknesses, what you need to work on a little bit more um in terms of your game, but then also as a student athlete too, to really improve. And so we make sure, yeah, yeah, we we tell people that we always think it's a good idea, right? Um, unless the again, like they are college ready at that moment, right? Um, and so we we I I wouldn't say we push for it by any means, right? Because ultimately at the end of the day, we're putting the and the decision in the hands of the family. But it's something that we think benefits just about everybody that we've seen do it, especially again, if you look at the current college landscape and where guys are and how guys are playing. A lot of it is essentially professional basketball now. And so you have to be ready to handle that professionally. I mean again, like I've said, that comes from a discipline standpoint, that comes from a mental standpoint, that comes from a social emotional one, and then maybe the most importantly in in some cases is gonna be the athletic one too. So it I think it brings a lot of positives. Um, but ultimately ultimately it's the family's decision.

SPEAKER_01 18:18

Yeah,

What D1 Guards Need

SPEAKER_01 18:19

gotcha. What does it take to be a D1 guard in today's day and age?

SPEAKER_00 18:23

Yeah, again, you have to have that real sense of maturity about you. And you have to know that the game, in the majority of the game, you're not gonna have the ball in your hands. All right, you have to be a great defender and you have to be able to defend multiple positions. If you're a point guard at the Division I level and you're only able to guard point guards, you're gonna get switched a lot. You're not gonna be a great fit for a lot of schemes and a lot of different coverages that teams may use, and so that could cross you off immediately. You have to be so great on ball defense, great help defense. Absolutely necessary. You have to be able to shoot the ball at a high clip. You need to be able to, you know, in a gym by yourself with nobody else around and the gun going. If you're getting 100 shots up, you've got to be making at least 85. It's just how it is today's world. You know, you you gotta make open shots. Um, and then if you uh you gotta be able to play without the ball too. You have to be a great screener, you have to be a great passer, um, you have to be able to set people up and then to be mature about it and to help your teammates through things. You know, a lot of ways I see the point guard almost like the quarterback of the team. Right. Um you initiate the offense just like the quarterback gets the ball out to his players, um, but their job doesn't end once the ball goes to the other player, like the quarterback does a lot of times. They then have to go into a lot of stuff too. And so you have to know, you know, where guys like certain passes where they want to be able to go and create and how they want to handle things. So it's a really big job. You have to be mentally, physically mature. Yeah. Mike, what do you see as the future of prep school basketball?

The Future of Prep School Basketball

SPEAKER_00 19:59

I think prep school basketball is in a really good place. I think prep school basketball can certainly thrive. Um the coaches are at another level. I you know, I one, I feel incredibly fortunate to be associated with the coaches in both leagues, right? In NEPSAC AA as well as in the ISL. Um, it's such an awesome community to be a part of, and everybody's incredibly supportive of one another. Um, I think I call all the coaches in each league, and if they're not in class, they'll pick up and and offer some really, really good advice. So I think, you know, having that strong foundation of coaches as well as administrators who are supportive of prep school basketball and the benefits that prep school basketball can bring to our schools, and then also how prep schools can benefit these students in particular. Um, that those are like the pillars of what can really help drive this and make this successful. We continue to, there's great people being hired in both spots. And so I think, you know, the talent's going to be there always, right? Being able to see the value of that talent and how it can help you get to where you want to go and open more doors for you. It's a really great opportunity that a lot of people should take up or consider taking up because it can help get you to where you want to go ultimately at the end of the day.

SPEAKER_01 21:17

Yeah, I love that. I love it. So um there's

Should March Madness Expand?

SPEAKER_01 21:21

been some uh rumblings in the NCAA about expanding the NCAA tournament uh, I think to 76 teams now. So they'll have a couple days before the Thursday event starts and more PowerFive schools will be allowed to be in there. What are your thoughts on this?

SPEAKER_00 21:36

I wish the I love this. I love 64, right? 68's cool, it's great, right? We get the extra Tuesday game. 64, uh, you know, growing up, I just loved having that bracket on Sunday night or Monday morning and knowing every single team that was going to be in there. Texas really hurt my bracket this year just because the play in games, I kind of think of it as an afterthought, but then it's like, oh duh, like they're really good. Duh. Texas could absolutely. Make a run. The 68 is good, right? Obviously, more teams can get in. But when you look at that expansion to, you know, what is it, 76 teams, right? Now I worry that those mid to low majors, right, or even some of those high academic institutions, they're even more so going to get phased out or be forced to play in more Monday or Tuesday, Wednesday games, right? Versus, you know, being able to get that automatic bid. I think it's like now you get the automatic bid, sorta. You know, maybe, maybe you make the big dance. So I worry that it may water it down, but you know, uh I love people being able to get the opportunity to compete in the big dance. I love people being able uh to experience that, right? And all the things that go through it. Um it's great. You know, it's basketball's great where it's at, right? It's probably never going back to what it used to be, right? It's just like education systems, right? It's never gonna go back to brick and mortar. And so you have to be able to adapt and kind of love it for what it is. Um I I worry about those, you know, those mid-major programs, though. I worry about those, those lower, you know, smaller programs that now maybe they're gonna get phased out and certain leagues are gonna get 16 to 18 teams in.

SPEAKER_01 23:13

I know. That's gonna be interesting. Uh the NCAA also, this is being recorded on April 30th. The NCAA came out with some new rules uh where you've got five years to do college if you're

How NCAA Eligibility Changes Could Affect Recruits

SPEAKER_01 23:23

an athlete and no more waivers, no more redshirts. Um, I know you guys do not have a postgrade year option at LA, um, but talk to me about just the state of the college game and putting these rules in. I know they're not rules yet. I know you might not be as well versed on it, but what are your thoughts of getting rid of redshirting waivers and just having five years now to do college? It's interesting.

SPEAKER_00 23:46

I think, you know, the idea of the redshirts really again to benefit the student athlete, right? To give them an opportunity to still be part of a program and focus on whatever it may be. Um, whether it's your again, physical maturity to get to where you need to be to be able to play or to be able to just learn the system, like that's gone now. And so I think it does open up some more doors, you know, for for people, you know, trying to jump to that next level. Where they're going to be coming from, though, is is the question. Is are they gonna be coming from prep schools? Is it worth it worth it to take that postgrad year and then make that jump now? Um, or are they going to be coming from the division two and the division three level, or even from you know a mid-major program? It's it's I'm really interested to see you know the unintended consequences of this and what could eventually come about because of it. Um, you know, obviously there's good reasons and there there's um you know reasoning for why the NCAA it has this in place, but um the unintended consequences I think are are going to be plentiful, right? And they'll pop up for sure pretty pretty soon, I'm sure, especially for a lot of these kids who are considering doing those post-grad years. And it makes the decision for high school families really tough.

SPEAKER_01 25:00

Yeah. Yeah, and now maybe we gotta do more outreach and let families know about potentially reclassing before a post-grade year, because now the postgrade year might count against college, you know, eligibility, and it's gonna be a decision each family has to make, right? Yeah, right.

SPEAKER_00 25:15

And it yeah, exactly. To your point, it's something that you know it it's tough because like I said earlier, I was a little bit of a late boomer, right? College basketball wasn't something, you know, it was something I idolized, but it wasn't something that I ever really thought could seriously happen until my junior or senior year. Um then, you know, so it's for people who are much more gifted athletically than me, right, much better basketball players than me now, it's okay. Well, do I want to do that my freshman and sophomore year? Whereas previously they weren't necessarily thinking about it. And so, you know, it it is kind of forcing that hand at a much younger age, which I do worry could then turn to more specialization, kids just doing one thing, hyper focusing on something and even higher burnout rates or or you know, more unintended consequences like injuries because you're playing all the time to try and be seen and do this, and then oh, well, I've played 300 games this summer. No wonder you know I I ruptured something.

SPEAKER_01 26:12

Yeah, exactly. Exactly. There's no crystal ball, there's no right way. You just gotta make the best decision with the information you got and hope and pray it works out. So, like,

Basketball Quick Hitters

SPEAKER_01 26:22

we're gonna finish up with some quick hitters here. All right. All right. Best player you've ever played against.

SPEAKER_00 26:27

Oh man, best player that I ever played against. Uh I'll say this. Uh in high school, I played against a kid, Keegan Highland. He was a couple years younger than me, and he was a dog. Uh Keegan uh was recruited to Gonzaga out of public school in Maine, which is pr pretty impressive. Um uh Keegan lived in the gym, and so he was probably the best player I played against. Did he go to Gonzaga? Yeah, he went there for a year and then injuries. Uh, he ended up uh finishing up at Bentley, I believe. Yeah. Okay, cool. Who's the best player you've coached against at LA? And best player I've coached against at LA. These quick hitters are tough. Uh Ryan Mesh jumps off the page immediately. Jalen Hurrell, who was uh the Gatorade player of the year in Massachusetts last year, um, immediately comes to mind as well. Those two guys were phenomenal uh competitors and and really tough to stop. Ryan was just really almost impossible to keep out of the paint. Yeah. I might go to his graduation, I might be the happiest person he's graduating. Okay. What about uh your favorite movie? Uh favorite movie. Um one of them. Yeah, what one of them. Uh let's see here. Uh I it's it's a classic. Uh, if you knew me in high school, you'd probably know that this is it. Uh, it's one that I watched again recently, but uh Anchorman. Love that movie, Prime Wolf Pharaoh.

SPEAKER_01 27:55

So I used to watch Anchorman, and every time I I watched it on repeat, this is when I got in the military and just had DVDs. And every time I watched it, I'd try to find something new in the background. And I had so many nuggets in that movie that you you you wouldn't pick up the first five times you watched it. So we had we had to watch it together. Sit down. I'd um interested to see some of these nuggets. Yes, yeah, I can I can help you with that. Um and finally, what are your hobbies when you're not uh doing the basketball thing?

SPEAKER_00 28:20

Uh yeah, hobbies when I'm not doing basketball. Um, let's see. So a couple of years ago, I really got into golf. Um it's open part of being out of LA. In about 20 minutes, I gotta go grab the golf van and uh drive our golf team to our match today. Uh pick that hobby up a lot. Uh really enjoy spending time with friends and family um and uh being able to relax and try vacation with them as much as possible. Um I'd say those are those are definitely my my biggest hobbies. Okay. And

College Ready. Life Ready.

SPEAKER_00 28:48

is there anything you want to touch on we did not mention? I again like I could promote LA all day long. Um I think it's a great place to be. I think you know the prep school world is is evolving and changing, but I think at the heart of it, right, the missions remain the same, the the goals remain the same, the people um uh are still there to to do the same things, right? We're here to help kids get to where they want to go. And there's ways that a couple different ways that every school, every place does that. But our love for the game, our love for development, our love for student athletes, and see that that's never going to change or go away. Um, and so I do think, yeah, we're in a really special spot, and uh I think that trajectory will continue to climb.

SPEAKER_01 29:30

I love it. Well, Mike, thanks so much for coming on today, sharing your story, sharing more about LA and all you've got to offer, and uh just appreciate you coming on and sharing your story. Really appreciate it, Corey. Thanks for having me. Yeah, if you guys like this podcast, please be sure to share it with a friend. Go to YouTube and subscribe, and subscribe to us on whatever podcasting platform you listen to, and go to our website, prepathletics.com to sign up to the newsletter and get any question you want answered about prep school basketball. Most likely it's on there. So thanks again for tuning in. We'll see you next time here on the Prep Athletics Podcast. Take care.