Hargrave Military Academy has more alumni playing in the NBA postseason than any high school or prep school in the country, according toMaxPreps.com.
Four former Tigers are currently battling for spots in the second round of the playoffs. Mike Scott and the Atlanta Hawks currently are playing against David West, who was on the Tigers’ 1998-99 team, and the Indiana Pacers to advance to the next round, Jordan Crawford and Marreese Speights, who are with the Golden State Warriors, are trying to send the Los Angeles Clippers home early.
For Hargrave Coach A.W. Hamilton, watching the former Tigers contribute to their teams in the playoffs is a sign of what Hargrave is capable of doing with players looking to develop their skills before college.
“It certainly helps recruiting but were not telling recruits we’ll get them to the NBA, we’re telling them we’ll get them ready for college on and off thwwe court,” he said in an email. “I’m just as proud when our players graduate from college. It’s more than a game for us at Hargrave.”
Watching Scott and Crawford, who both played for Hargrave during the 2006-07 season, has been a real treat for Hamilton. He recruited the pair to come to Chatham as an assistant under current Louisville assistant Kevin Keatts. Hamilton said he thinks Scott has been the surprise performance of the playoffs. He’s been a force off the bench for the Hawks, who currently lead Indiana 3-2 in their series. He’s scored 9.4 points per game while averaging a little more than 19 minutes in each of Atlanta’s five playoff games.
“Mike Scott has had a tremendous series for the Hawks,” Hamilton said. “I think this series has helped him emerge as one of the next great combo forwards in the NBA.”
In that same series, West has been trying to hold the Pacers together while star Paul George has. West, Indiana’s starting power forward, is second on the team in assists and third on the team in scoring. West has scored a little more than 13 points per game while averaging 4.8 assists.
“David West is the ultimate pro,” Hamilton said. “He doesn’t do anything flashy, just gets the job done night in and night out. That’s the reason he’s been in the NBA for 10 years.”
While Speights, who played for Hargrave during the 2005-06 season, and Crawford have not performed as well as the other former Tigers in the playoffs, they’ve seen regular minutes for the Warriors. Crawford and Speights both have played about nine minutes per night through five games, with Crawford averaging five points and Speights, 4.5 points per game. Speights has also helped the Warriors on the boards, pulling down more than three rebounds per night.
While having four alumni playing in the postseason is impressive, Hamilton is confident Hargrave will have more representatives in the playoffs in the future. Numerous former Tigers have made splashes at the NCAA level, including Montrezl Harrell. Projected as mid-to-late first-round pick in this summer’s NBA Draft, Harrell opted to return to Louisville in hopes of becoming a higher pick.
“Montrezl Harrell chose to return to Louisville for his junior year to become a top-10 pick in the 2015 NBA Draft,” Hamilton said. “A lot of NBA executives forecast Montrezl as an NBA all-star caliber player, so he’s one to watch out for in the years to come.”
