Arizona's Bennedict Mathurin, Clemson's Olivier-Maxence Prosper paving new path to NCAA through NBA Academy in Mexico City
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00:00 Hey everyone, Aaron Rose here from Sports Illustrated.
00:03 The other day I did a story on the Canadians at the NBA Academy in Mexico City and their
00:07 journey home when the COVID-19 pandemic hit North America in mid-March.
00:11 I wanted to dive a little bit deeper into the story of the two Canadians graduating
00:15 from the program.
00:16 Benedict Mathren and Olivier-Maxence Prosper have really been Canadian pioneers for the
00:20 program and that's something the program's director, Chris Ebersole, says he takes pride
00:25 in.
00:26 They both came in with a goal to play high major college basketball.
00:32 So to see them kind of be very clear and upfront with us about what their goals were going
00:37 in and committing to those goals and all the work they put in and the development from
00:43 where they started with us to where they finished with us, we're extremely proud of them and
00:47 just excited now to be able to watch them at the next level.
00:52 I think a lot of folks will be surprised just by how quickly they're able to contribute.
00:58 Maxence Prosper is a four-star prospect committed to Clemson next season.
01:01 He's an extremely talented power forward, but it's his maturity that he showed in
01:05 moving to Mexico that really impressed Tigers coach Brad Brownell.
01:09 I think what it shows is a certain level of maturity.
01:16 To move away that far away from your family, you've got to be a mature young man.
01:20 You've got to be driven, you've got to be focused, you've got to be hungry.
01:25 He's certainly all of those things that I mentioned.
01:28 That's one of the reasons Maxence Prosper chose the academy.
01:31 I feel like going to the NBA Academy is really different than going to any other high school
01:38 because over there, they really prepare us to not only as basketball players, but becoming
01:46 men and mature men.
01:49 I feel like going away from home helps us also mature because we don't have our parents
01:54 around.
01:55 We don't have our family around to tell us what to do or to help us do anything.
01:58 We have to develop that for ourselves.
02:01 For Mathurin, a four-star prospect committed to Arizona, going to the program was one of
02:05 the best decisions he says he's ever made.
02:08 It's one of the greatest things to be in.
02:11 People playing in front of college scouts and NBA scouts.
02:19 NBA Academy is a great thing because the coaches know what they're doing.
02:24 We're having a lot of time.
02:25 We're focusing on basketball and obviously school.
02:29 I feel like the development in the academy is a great one.
02:34 Entry into the academy is extremely difficult, but Ebersol says if you're interested in the
02:38 program, you should follow them on social media and just keep working on your game.
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