‘It’s like college.’ Top UK basketball recruits discuss prep school vs. high school path.

The power of the basketball prep school isn’t new.

For years now, the top men’s college basketball recruits in the country have flocked to prep schools spanning the continental United States — from California to Florida — in pursuit of furthering their basketball development.

The reasons for this are simple: Prep schools and similar setups offer more of a 24-7, basketball-focused environment than traditional high schools. These prep schools also play national schedules, almost always against other prep schools, and participate in showcase tournaments watched by college recruiters and professional basketball analysts.

While each individual decision is different for a promising young basketball player, the bottom line often comes down to this: Will this increase the chances of playing basketball at the next level, be it for a top college program like Kentucky or an alternative pro route like the NBA’s G League Ignite or overseas?

But, that doesn’t mean leaving home is easy.

Over the course of the last few months, the Herald-Leader spoke to several elite college basketball recruits (who all have Kentucky scholarship offers) in the class of 2024 and beyond, and asked for their thoughts on going the prep school route.

Some answers varied, but the overwhelming majority of responses praised the development and growth — on and off the court — that comes with opting to go to a prep school.

Top basketball recruits are coming from prep schools

The best player in each of the next three college basketball recruiting classes attends a prep school.

Uber-talented power forward Cooper Flagg (2024) is originally from Maine but plays at the powerhouse Montverde Academy based in Florida. Small forward AJ Dybantsa (2025) began his high school basketball career in his native Massachusetts but is now part of the California-based Prolific Prep squad.

Dybantsa is teammates at Prolific Prep with power forward Tyran Stokes (2026), who was born in Louisville.

It’s easy to see the benefits these players reap from playing at these schools when you look at their rosters.

Montverde Academy, the favorite to win this season’s GEICO Nationals championship, has Flagg surrounded with talent — point guard Curtis Givens (an LSU signee), small forward Liam McNeeley (an Indiana signee), power forward Asa Newell (a Georgia signee) and center Derik Queen (a five-star recruit) among them.

The Prolific Prep roster this season also includes guard Zoom Diallo (a five-star recruit who committed to Washington on Saturday) and center Aiden Sherrell (an Alabama signee).

This month, during a high school basketball showcase event in Louisville, both Dybantsa and Stokes spoke to the Herald-Leader about the impact transferring to Prolific Prep has had on their basketball trajectory.

“It’s made me better because I’m going against (top players) every day in practice. Going against them every day in practice is making me better,” Dybantsa said. “… I’m getting in the gym every day. My work ethic has improved.”

“It’s like college. We travel a lot; work out a lot. Everything is to prepare us for the next step: college, the NBA,” Stokes said. “It’s to get us ready to dominate whatever the next step is for us.”

Standout class of 2025 guard Jasper Johnson went from Kentucky high school basketball star to a prep school.

Johnson played three seasons at Woodford County, where his father, Dennis (the former Harrodsburg, UK and NFL football player) is the head football coach and athletic director.

Jasper Johnson rose to high school basketball stardom this year when he helped lead the Yellow Jackets to the Boys’ Sweet 16 state tournament for the first time since 1986, reaching the semifinals in a stirring run that captivated Central Kentucky.

But over the summer he transferred to Link Academy, a relatively new prep basketball powerhouse based in Missouri that won the 2023 GEICO Nationals championship in April.

“Definitely the level of competition, each and every day, not only in games but practice, that was one of the big pushes for me to go to Link,” Johnson said, adding that his defensive intensity and off-ball offensive movement has improved from sharing the backcourt at Link with the likes of Tre Johnson (a Texas signee and former UK recruit).

Another heavily recruited class of 2025 guard that made the move to a prep school this year is Darius Acuff Jr.

Originally from Michigan and a star player at Detroit’s Cass Tech High School, Acuff moved to the renowned IMG Academy in Florida.

“It was hard for me to do that, but I had to because I feel like I need to get my body right,” Acuff said. “I felt like I needed to focus more in the summer in an environment that I’m not used to: staying in dorms, being on campus, it’s like college. So I’m just trying to get used to it. The conditioning too, it’s just like college.”

Kentucky shows prep school isn’t only path to elite college basketball

Kentucky basketball’s recent recruiting classes reveal that the prep school option isn’t the only path to playing high-level college basketball, though.

UK’s 2023 recruiting class included the likes of Rob Dillingham and Jordan Burks, who both played in the Overtime Elite league as seniors.

But it also featured Justin Edwards (Imhotep Institute in Philadelphia) and the duo of Aaron Bradshaw and D.J. Wagner, who both starred at Camden High School in New Jersey. Joey Hart (Linton-Stockton High School in Indiana) and Reed Sheppard (North Laurel) represented recruits who came from traditional high schools in states where prep basketball is akin to religion.

This same balance can be found with the four players who have signed with Kentucky in the 2024 recruiting class.

Somto Cyril (Overtime Elite) and Jayden Quaintance (Word of God Christian Academy in North Carolina) represent the prep school contingent.

“They let me run plays, call out plays for point guards, do whatever I can,” Cyril said, adding that playing at OTE has helped him become more comfortable with media interactions and outside attention.

Cyril’s teammate at OTE is Karter Knox, a class of 2024 standout wing who has a top-four list of Kentucky, Louisville, South Florida and the NBA’s G League Ignite.

“There’s competition every day. You know, the best of the best,” Knox said of OTE, which he moved to for his senior year after being a star player at Tampa (Florida) Catholic High School.

Boogie Fland (Archbishop Stepinac High School in New York) and Travis Perry (Lyon County) stayed at home.

And doing so afforded some distinct opportunities.

Earlier this month, Perry — the all-time leading scorer in Kentucky boys high school basketball history — and his Lyon County team played at Wayland Gymnasium in the Mountain Sports Hall of Fame Throwback Game.

What that matchup between Lyon County and Floyd Central might have lacked in five-star basketball talent, it more than made up for in history: Wayland Gymnasium in Eastern Kentucky was the home of Kentucky high school basketball legend “King” Kelly Coleman, whose state all-time scoring record Perry broke last season.

“It’s incredible to see the impact that basketball can have on people, how much it can move people, how much they can really love it,” Perry said postgame. “From our point of view, there are people who live for Lyon County basketball. Seeing that (in Wayland) is really special and kind of puts it in perspective.”

Travis Perry will soon be a Kentucky Wildcat. Here’s how to watch the Lyon County star play.

‘Came here on a mission.’ UK basketball recruit Karter Knox is adapting at Overtime Elite.

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John Calipari talks Somto Cyril, Boogie Fland after 2024 recruits sign with UK basketball