Montverde Academy NBA players include D'angelo Russel, Ben Simmons, Devin Williams and RJ Barret. Montverde has 13 former players in the league.
There has never been the scarceness of outstanding players for the Academy as more than 35 players have been part of their professional basketball team both from the USA and abroad.
The institution had an impactful year in 2021 during which a record seven players were selected in the NBA Draft. Montverde was also named the best basketball program of the decade in 2017 by USA Today.
The success of Montverde Academy basketball credit goes to head coach Kevin Boyle as he is an eight-time national high school who has won 6 Geico National High School championships.
Roster Boys had already won four of the National Championships before Boyle, and after his arrival, Montverde Academy basketball schedule was so extremely organized that they were able to win seven more.
In addition, Kevin was also named the Max Prep’s Coach of the Decade for 2010-2020.
1. Ben Simmons
Ben Simmons is a 6 foot 10 NBA player who went to Montverde Academy. Simmons was drafted into the NBA in 2016 by the Philadelphia 76ers.
The 27-year-old point guard played for the 2012 FIBA Under-17 World Championship for the junior team and the 2013 FIBA Oceania Championship against New Zealand as a senior team.
Ben Simmons Montverde Academy stint lasted for just a season from 2013 to 2014. Later that season he was named as America's top high school junior and was also voted to be the MVP. He also played at The LSU Tigers men's basketball during college from 2015-16.
Till the end of 2022, Simmons played for the Sixers, where he won three NBA All-Stars and other various achievements. Through February 2022, he has been playing with the Brooklyn Nets.
2. D’Angelo Russell
D’Angelo Russell was selected by the Los Angeles Lakers in 2015 during 1st round NBA draft. Russell is a 6 foot 4 player with the nickname "DLo".
Playing alongside Ben Simmons, Russell was listed among the best high school basketball players who helped the Montverde Academy to win the National Tournament championships.
After his high school career, he played for the Ohio State Buckeyes until he declared for the NBA draft. He played from 2015 to 2017 in the Los Angeles Lakers, and from 2017 to 2019 in the Brooklyn Nets.
In 2019 he joined the Golden State Warriors where he won the NBA All-Star and left the club in 2020. Later Russell Moved to Minnesota in 2020. After spending three years with the Wolves, he made a move to the Los Angeles Lakers.
Russel has made his average score 19.8 per game along with a field goal percentage at 43.7 and assists at 6.5 per game.
3. Luc Mbah a Moute
Luc Mbah a Moute is a 2005 Montverde Academy basketball alumni from Cameroon. Moute received a silver medal in the 2007 AfroBasket.
He was coached by Kevin Sutton during his high school from 2001 to 2005. Later he joined UCLA as a freshman and played there from 2005 till 2008. Mbah-a-Moute was selected in an NBA draft in 2008 in the second round the by Milwaukee Bucks.
Recently he has been a player agent for Creative Artists Agency (CAA). Before that Mbah a Moute played for a total of eight clubs. Mbah a Moute has won the Pac-10 Freshman of the Year award in 2006.
4. RJ Barrett
RJ Barrett plays as a shooting guard for the NBA side New York Knicks. Barrett was previously engaged with Duke Blue Devils.
He was a consensus top recruit in the 2018 class while he enrolled at Montverde Academy. He was also compared to LeBron James in terms of swiping the awards and the national championship.
The 6-foot-6 athlete was also named the MVP at the 2017 FIBA Under-19 Basketball World Cup as he was able to lead the team to a gold medal.
Barrett was drafted in the NBA during 1st round of 3rd overall pick-up by the New York Knicks. And he has been playing in that club ever since.
Barrett was one of the youngest players who was able to win silver at the 2015 FIBA Americas U16 Championship, in Argentina. He has been playing in the Canadian senior men's national team through May 24, 2022.
Focusing on the game has awarded Barrett with ACC All-Freshman Team in 2019, and National High School Player of the Year in 2018.
5. James Bell
James Bell is a Montverde Academy alumni who currently plays in the Japanese B League. Bell was an ENBL champion in 2022.
Bell moved to Florida just so that he could be a graduate of Montverde Academy where he was properly coached by Kevin Sutton. He was undrafted in the NBA in 2014.
Bell played at the 2011 FIBA Under-19 World Championship, where the USA was able to beat Canada. After high school, he joined Villanova College where he was able to win the Robert V. Geasey Trophy.
Bell became associated with Vanoli Cremona in 2014 when he officially began his journey to become a professional basketball player. Bell was transferred to around 10 clubs and is right now at Passlab Yamagata Wyverns.
Bell won the Euro Cup championship in 2018 and was the Montenegrin League champion in 2019.
6. Dakari Johnson
Dakari Johnson is a third generation basketball player from New York. Johnson plays in the center position for the Qingdao Eagles of the CBA.
Johnson was drafted into the NBA in 2015 in the 2nd round of the 48th overall pick by the Oklahoma City Thunder.
While attending Montverde Academy, Johnson made an average of about 17 points per game along with, 11 rebounds and 4.3 blocks per game. He also attained the 2013 McDonald's All-American Boys Game and Jordan Brand Classic.
Johnson attended Kentucky College and later in 2015, he got drafted into the NBA. He got transferred around four clubs during 2015-2023. Recently he has been playing as a player from Anhui Wenyi.
7. Patricio Garino
Patricio Garino accompanied Montverde Academy as the wish of coach Kevin Sutton. After high school Garino studied at George Washington University.
Patricio Nicolas Garino Gullotta known as "Pato" is an Argentine basketball player who represents the senior Argentina national team. He is listed as one of the prominent Montverde Academy basketball players.
Garino began his professional career in 2016 by playing as a team member of the Austin Spurs. He has been transferred around 5 times in 7 years to time.
Garino has won a silver medal at the 2015 FIBA Americas Championship. And also, he participated in the 2016 Summer Olympics and the 2017 FIBA AmeriCup. He has also won a gold medal at the 2019 Lima championship.
8. Devin Williams
Devin Williams is a former Montverde Academy basketball player who plays for the Jiangsu Dragons. in the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA). Williams went undrafted in the 2016 NBA.
He was a part of the Montverde Academy basketball roster in 2012 during his senior year. After completing high school, he moved to West Virginia College where he studied till 2016.
William's dream to become a professional basketball player began after 2016 when he joined Melbourne United. He was transferred between 11 clubs within 7 years.
He has been playing as a member of Jiangsu Dragons since 2022. Williams has also earned a lot of achievements that are worth mentioning. He won the Montenegrin League champion in 2019, and Second-team All-Big 12 in 2016.
9. Kasey Hill
Kasey Hill is a 6 foot American basketball player who plays for the Science City Jena. Hill won McDonald's All-American in 2013.
Hill studied at Florida and became the team of The Florida Gators men's basketball team from 2013 to 2017. After going undrafted in the 2017 NBA Draft, Kasey joined Alba Fehérvár. He left the club in 2018.
After that, Hill joined the APOEL Basketball Club in 2018 and Eisbären Bremerhaven in 2019. Besides, he won the SEC All-Defensive Team in 2017 as well as Second-team All-SEC in the same year.
10. Solomon Alabi
Solomon Alabi was coached by Kevin Sutton while he was at Montverde Academy. Alabi recorded a scoreboard of 30-0 during his sophomore year
Zenith was listed in the NBA in 2010 during the second round of the 50th overall pick by the Dallas Mavericks. Later he was sold to Toronto Raptors for cash considerations.
He has been transferred by 9 clubs till 2018. He played last as a professional basketball player through Fukushima Firebonds.
Alabi has made a few highlights in his career such as winning Third-team All-ACC in 2010, the ACC All-Defensive team twice and the ACC All-Freshman team in 2009.
