Findlay Prep assistant and former NBA player Jerome Williams will take over the Pilots program, the team announced Tuesday. The move has been expected since former coach Todd Simon left the high school basketball national powerhouse in July to become an assistant at UNLV.
UNLV basketball coach Dave Rice didn’t have to look far for an assistant coach to fill out his staff. Todd Simon, the head coach at national high school powerhouse Findlay Prep in Henderson, is close to returning to UNLV to take the position vacated when Justin Huston left in April for San Diego State. Simon spent two years as the Rebels’ video coordinator under Lon Kruger before leaving in 2006 for Findlay Prep. The UNLV job can’t be offered until the university’s human resources department gives its approval, which is a formality.
The next time he’s interviewed on national TV, Anthony Bennett will likely be without an arm sling, the better to pick up and put on the official NBA Draft hat of the team that selects him June 27 in New York City.
The Findlay Prep basketball team’s winning streak is over. So is the perennial power Pilots’ season. Findlay Prep was defeated Friday by St. Benedict’s of New Jersey in the semifinals of the ESPN National High School Invitational.
Findlay Prep’s Nigel Williams-Goss scored 13 of his game-high 26 points in the fourth quarter Thursday and the Pilots erased an eight-point fourth quarter deficit against Montrose Christian in the quarterfinals of the ESPN National High School Invitational in North Bethesda, Md., winning their 54th straight game with a 57-53 victory.
One look at Findlay Prep senior Christian Wood and it’s easy to see the most significant improvement he’s made in his two seasons at the Henderson high school basketball powerhouse.
Findlay Prep basketball coach Todd Simon runs his team like a college football program during this stage of the season. The Henderson-based Pilots, which are the consensus ranked No. 1 high school team in the nation, will have a 35-day layoff between games when they play April 4 against Montrose Christian at the eight-team ESPN National High School Invitational in Bethesda, Md.
The first thing visitors see when walking into the coaches’ office at Findlay Prep is an impressive display of McDonald’s All-American jerseys framed and hanging on the walls. The Pilots, which have won three of the last four ESPN National High School Invitational championships, and are ranked No. 1 nationally and undefeated this season, have had seven players selected for the prestigious McDonald’s game in the past five seasons. Nigel Williams-Goss, unlike the other six players before him, didn’t follow the same path in reaching the April 3 game at the United Center in Chicago.
Local legend Shabazz Muhammad’s farewell tour to college basketball hits Las Vegas this week when his UCLA basketball team plays in the Pac-12 tournament at the MGM Grand Garden Arena. The Pac-12 regular season champion Bruins will play a to-be-determined opponent at noon Thursday in the quarterfinals. The tournament begins Wednesday with four games in the first round — the winner of the Stanford-Arizona State matchup advances to face Muhammad and the Bruins.
The accolades are continuing to come in for Findlay Prep senior Nigel Williams-Goss. This honor, however, might be the most significant for the Washington-committed point guard. Williams-Goss was one of 24 high school basketball players nationwide selected Thursday for the McDonald’s All-American game.
This is why they play the games. The Desert Pines High basketball team entered its Saturday game against Findlay Prep ranked No. 398 in the nation by Maxpreps.com. Findlay Prep, of course, is a national power with just seven defeats the last five years. Ranked No. 1 in every poll. But unknown Desert Pines, the Northeast Las Vegas school and Division I-A power, nearly pulled off an upset for the ages at the Hardaway Hoopfest at Coronado. They led Findlay six points with two minutes to play in the third quarter and had two shots to win at the buzzer ...
The Findlay Prep basketball team Monday overcame another double-digit second half deficit against Montverde Academy. And, you guessed it, the Pilots’ best player hit the game-winner again.
This is one of the most anticipated high school basketball games of the year nationally. Findlay Prep, the Henderson-based powerhouse and the nation’s No. 1 ranked team by USA Today, will play Montverde Academy of Florida at 1 p.m. Monday in the Basketball Hall of Fame’s HoopHall Classic in Springfield, Mass, on ESPNU. Montverde is ranked No. 1 by ESPN Rise, making it a rare game featuring top-ranked opponents. And, let’s not forget, the teams have a history of playing memorable games.
There would be no classic finish this year. Findlay Prep made sure there wouldn’t be a suspenseful ending Monday at the South Point Arena during its annual basketball game against Bishop Gorman High, outscoring the Gaels 21-7 in the third quarter to turn a five-point halftime lead into a comfortable double-digit advantage and 65-45 victory.
Sitting at half-court in the South Point Arena on Monday night, UNLV coach Dave Rice had a good view of the future. Rice was one of several college coaches, including UCLA’s Ben Howland and BYU’s Dave Rose, on hand to take in Findlay Prep’s 65-45 victory against Bishop Gorman in an important matchup in the recruiting world.