With the start of the high school year around the corner, student-athlete basketball plyers who have not committed to colleges may be thinking of reclassifying and attending a prep school for a solid ACT score and more hoops training and competition.
Enter Hamilton Hall Academy in Willingboro, N.J,, a nine-month basketball-focused college preparatory academy with a burgeoning hoops program with three years of existence.
Head Coach Solomon Walker is currently looking to fill three to four roster spots in the coming weeks, and believes his student-athletes will get everything they need out of Hamilton Hall Academy.
The school, which carries a reasonable cost, has nice accommodations, including a four-bedroom house, with two-and-half bathrooms, and a washer and dryer, per Walker.
Plus, the basketball team has an experienced coaching staff, with a strength and condition coach to help athletes perform at their best possible physical level.
And there is ACT prep to get them academically ready for the college admission test. The school also partners with an educational institution that will offer both classroom and virtual learning.
Futhermore, Walker said the players are provided with bookbags, sweat suits, and gear for practices and games. But Walker said the best thing the program can offer them is college basketball exposure.
“The main thing is putting our guys in front of college coaches,” said Walker, who brings over twenty years of coaching to the table. “I want people to know we’re doing it the right way, (basketball and academics).”
However, Walker said he demands an unyielding commitment and never-ending determination from his players.
“You got to give the effort and the energy, and work hard. That’s what it’s about,” he said. “Otherwise, you’re going to be sitting on the sidelines.”
But Walker said he is a defensive-minded coach. Therefore, you need to be a capable, hard-working defender.
“For us, if you don’t play defense, you’re going to limit your time (on the court), said Walker, who played college hoops at Gwynedd Mercy University (Penn.) He went on to add that his man-to-man defense creates offense, which fits in with his run-and-gun, up-tempo offensive style of basketball.
As for other on-court abilities, Walker said, “I want guys to play to their strengths. Everyone has the green light to shoot.”
Last season, the Rebels did not play due to the COVD-19 pandemic. But the year before that, they posted a 9-1 mark and captured the American Independent Post Grad and Collegiate Conference (AIPGCC) title in 2019-20.
As of now, Walker is putting together a schedule that will feature more national competition, mixed in with tri-state (NY, PA, NJ) opponents while seeking players who want to attend Hamilton Hall Academy and play for its basketball team.
“I want this program to grow,” the Philadelphia, Penn, native said. “I think we’ll be pretty good when all is said and done.”
For more information on the prep academy, visit hamiltonhallacademy.org and/or contact Coach Walker at swalker3479@yahoo.com.
— Jerry Del Priore
(Photo of Coach Walker: http://hamiltonhallacademy.org.)
Brooklyn Sports World/NY NJ Sports World 