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Basketball star Brandon Ashley, a 6-foot-8 power forward, is transferring from Bishop O'Dowd High to Findlay Prep in Henderson, Nev., for his senior season. His mother, Lashiem Clark, and Findlay Prep coach Michael Peck confirmed the move Thursday.
Ashley is in Chicago for the Amar'e Stoudemire Skills Academy and could not be reached for comment.
"He will develop at a faster rate and also at a steady rate," Clark said of the motivation to transfer. "Most importantly, the academic move is lateral."
Clark and Ashley recently visited Findlay Prep and were sold on the idea of transferring.
"We both fell in love," Clark said. "We just think it's a good move for him. Not to slight Bishop O'Dowd at all. It's a great school. We can't say one bad thing about them."
Ashley is ranked by ESPN as the No. 6 overall prospect in the 2012 class and the No. 2 overall power forward. He helped the Dragons reach the California Interscholastic Federation Division III boys state championship game the past two years.
"Obviously, he's a very talented basketball player," Peck said. "What's even more important is he's just a solid person. A good kid, good student, he's well-rounded and has a great support system with his mom back at home."
Peck said the players Ashley will face daily in practice and throughout the Pilots' competitive schedule should help prepare him for college.
"From a playing standpoint, it's going to make him better,"
Peck said. "He's not going to have to wait for the one game every eight or nine games where he's got someone to challenge him. He'll see that every day in practice."
Findlay Prep is a basketball academy, and the players attend the Henderson International School. The team plays a national schedule, and the players live together in a large home near the school.
Bishop O'Dowd coach Doug Vierra spoke warmly about Ashley, whom his team will certainly miss.
"Brandon's been a huge part of our basketball family for the last three years and a huge part of our success," Vierra said. "I think I'm not alone in speaking well of him and his time with us. Everybody on the team wishes him well for his future."
Ashley averaged approximately 15 points and 10 rebounds for O'Dowd this season and was a first-team All-East Bay selection for the second straight year. Cal-Hi Sports named Ashley its Division III state player of the year and the junior player of the year.
His season was capped with a 28-point, eight-rebound performance in a 64-59 state title game loss to Lutheran-La Verne in which he was lauded for his performance against Grant Jerrett, a 6-8 Arizona commit to whom he's been compared.
Ashley is the second East Bay player in recent years to transfer to Findlay Prep. Jabari Brown transferred from Salesian in the summer of 2009 and played half a season with the Pilots before moving back home and enrolling at Oakland High. Brown led the Wildcats to the Oakland Section title this year and will attend Oregon in the fall.
This will be big for Ashley's development. Findlay Prep is the west coast answer to Oak Hill Academy. If everything stays true to form, Ashley could be playing with Winston Shepard, Anthony Bennett, Nigel Williams-Goss, and Landen Lucas. All of them will be seniors in the fall except for Williams-Goss who will be a junior. They can all play and have a plethora of choices to choose from as far as where they want to go to college.
If ESPN is smart, they will put the game between Bishop Gorman and Findlay Prep on TV next season. The schools are not too far apart from each other and the played a double-overtime game last year on UNLV's campus with Findlay Prep winning by three.
Bishop Gorman is going to be highly ranked in the fall too. Besides Shabazz Muhammad, they have Rosco Allen, Ben Carter, Demetris Morant, and Shabazz's younger brother, Rashad. They also have a big offensive lineman named Ronnie Stanley who patrols the middle for them who has a lot of football schollies on his docket to decide on. The returning players I mentioned are going to be seniors in the fall, except for Rashad Muhammad who will be a junior.
I'm not sure if there is a game on the official schedule yet or if they play each other often, but after last year's game, they should make it happen yearly. Findlay is a new school that's not even 10 years old, but so far they have produced four NBA draft picks in: Avery Bradley, Tristan Thompson, Cory Joseph, and DeAndre Liggins. Expect Myck Kabongo to be the fifth. Out.
I've had this game on my calender for a minute. Findlay doesn't haven't Landen Lucas anymore, but they are still nice with UCLA decommit/Oregon commit, Dominic Artis running the show.
If you don't watch high school basketball as a hoops junkie, consider this a fair warning to reconsider for this game. There will be so many D1 prospects on both sides and perhaps some future pros too. Out.
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