Remember the name Nigel Williams-Goss

How often do you see it?

A high school player entering his senior season leaves the school he has attended for three years to go to a "basketball academy", where he can focus on his skills on the court and his grades in the classroom.

It happens all the time. Think about how often you see names like Oak Hill Academy (Carmelo Anthony, Michael Beasley, Ty Lawson) or Montrose Christian Academy (Kevin Durant, Greivis Vazquez) associated with some of the best players in the country.

One of the newest basketball academies has popped up in Henderson, Nevada. Findlay Prep is essentially a basketball program financed by a UNLV booster named Cliff Findlay. Players that go to Findlay live in a house owned by the booster and all attend class, on a scholarship provided by Findlay, at the Henderson International School.

Why do I bring this up now?

Because Findlay Prep just landed their first four-year player.

Nigel Williams-Goss is widely considered one of, if not the, best players in the class of 2013. Currently standing 6'2", 165 lb, Williams-Goss, who is 14, is in the middle of his second season playing for Ime Udoka's I-5 Elite U-17 AAU team.

Nigel Williams-Goss is considered the best rising high school freshman in the country.
(photo credit: OregonLive)

He was set to attend Clackamas High School, but he and his parents decided that it would be best for them and best for Williams-Goss as a player to attend Findlay for four years.

From the Portland Tribune:

“Once the scholarship was offered, it was an easy call,” Virgil Williams-Goss says. “From an academic standpoint as well as athletically, there is not a better situation for Nigel.

“A lot of people have tried to tell me the things that Nigel could do in Oregon as far as records and all that, but they’re not important to me. I want him to continue to grow as a player. I didn’t think he would grow at the pace I would like playing against the local competition.”

Nigel says he doesn’t have mixed emotions about the decision.

“I know it’s the best thing for me,” he says. “I still have strong feelings for Clackamas. I love all the coaches there, and I know it kind of hurts them, but it was the right decision for me to help me get to where I want to go.”

I'm sure your initial reaction to hearing this news was the same as mine - a 14 year old being sent to a basketball factory?!? Isn't that just a bit too young? He can't drive, vote, or legally look at internet porn yet, and you going to send him off to a school in the middle of nowhere in Nevada where he will spend all day living in, essentially, a dorm with a bunch of older kids, with nothing to do but go to class and go play basketball? That won't ruin this kid's childhood?

Normally, I would agree with that sentiment. For starters, I loved high school basketball. Playing with kids you grew up with in front of a packed gym of friends and family against your hometown's biggest rival ... sports in their purest form. Some of my greatest memories (both good and bad) come from high school hoops.

Texas-recruit Avery Bradley cuts down the nets after
Findlay won the National High School Championship.
(photo credit: ESPN)

You don't want to see a 14 year old miss out on those memories because he wanted to get the jump on his chase of NBA riches.

And that doesn't even take into consideration the possibility of academic fraud, illegal benefits, or recruiting violations (hey, Nevada is the home of Vegas and Cliff Findlay is a booster for UNLV. I'm just sayin').

So, yes, as I said before, I would normally be appalled by this decision.

But I am not.

Why not?

Because Williams-Goss is a different kind of kid. He has a 4.0 GPA. He is fluent in Chinese. He is, by all accounts, a dedicated, hard-worker committed to being the best at everything he does.

And he won't be living in the dorm.

His parents will be moving from Oregon to Nevada and Williams-Goss will be living with them.

Not exactly like freshman year of college, huh.

But the most important issue is that it is, in fact, what is best for this kid as a basketball player. The fact of the matter is that when you are the cream of the high school athletic crop, if you are still playing in your local high school's public league, there is no chance that you are facing the kind of talent that will challenge you on a consistent basis.

Not in games. Not in practices. Sure, there may be a couple of other D1 prospects in the area, but if this kid lives up to his reputation, he would have been the best player in Oregon by the end of his sophomore year. How much is he really going to develop going against point guards like this (the video is of Kevin Love, also from Oregon, breaking a backboard in a high school game)?

At Findlay Prep, not only will he be going up against the best in the country every game, but every day in practice as well.

Given the fact that this youngster seems to have his head screwed on pretty straight and will be taking his education (at the least) semi-seriously, I think that he is making a good move here.

Anyway, here is an interview with Nigel. He is quite a well-spoken and intelligent young man, and sure carries himself well.