Former WSU recruit helps Sunrise post-grad team to fourth straight national tournament
Sunrise Christian Academy is known for having one of the best elite high school boys basketball teams in the country.
But the program’s post-graduate team, designed for players looking to improve their stock before playing at the college level, is also one of the nation’s elite and recently earned its fourth straight invitation to the National Prep Championship.
Sunrise Christian, the No. 2 overall seed, plays Hargrave (Va.) Military Academy at 9 a.m. Central on Tuesday in the opening round of the national tournament hosted in Worcester, Mass.
The post-graduate roster features a collection of Division I-bound talent, including former Wichita State signee Makhi Myles, who was released from his letter of intent following the firing of head coach Isaac Brown and enrolled instead at Sunrise. Myles, a 6-foot-7 wing out of Mississippi, has recovered from a summer knee injury and recently scored a season-high 35 points in a win over then-No. 1-ranked Putnam (Conn.) Science Academy.
The most intriguing prospect might be Max Pikaar, a 6-11 forward from the Netherlands who averages a double-double while shooting 40% from 3. He is beginning to attract high-major interest and recently took an official visit to Penn State.
Other top players on the team include Ashton Williamson, a 6-3 point guard from Chicago, and Mister Dean, a versatile 6-6 wing from Miami. Dean is the team’s leading scorer at better than 14 points per game, while Williamson is attracting interest from Conference USA programs for his speed and vision.
The team’s roster also includes two former Kansas high school basketball stars in Rose Hill graduate Kellan Simoneau and Olathe West graduate Harrison Kisling.
