West Oaks gains transfers and scrutiny
Flame coach Gillion makes no apologies about newcomers his program has collected
West Oaks Academy boys basketball coach Kenny Gillion makes no apologies about the public school transfers his powerhouse program has collected this offseason.
They says.
And Jahsean Corbett, a blossoming 6-foot-6 college prospect, says his move from Poinciana High to nationally ranked West Oaks is a step up the ladder.
“I’ll be competing at a different level,” Corbett said in a recent interview with the Orlando Sentinel. “At West Oaks, it’s a whole bunch of talent together. Everybody on the team is locked in on their goals. They all want to get to the next level [college basketball]. They travel out of state. You get a lot of national looks.”
But the move Corbett is making, from the outskirts of Osceola County to a small private school in inner-city Orlando, illustrates how the line between high school and travel team basketball has blurred. And how much maximum exposure to scouting services and college recruiters means to today’s players and parents.
All the while, the tension simmers between traditional high schools and the growing legion of independent schools will be better players for it, he
Jahsean Corbett is transferring from Poinciana to West Oaks as a senior.
such as West Oaks that play outside governing bodies like the Florida High School Athletic Association.
“This is not 1990. The times are changing,” Gillion said. “If you poll kids and ask them if they had to choose, would they want to win a high school state championship or get a Division I offer. …. I think 90% would say scholarship. The goals now are getting a full ride. Parents are buying into that. They’re looking for coaches that have connections with the colleges. It’s an investment for them.”
Richard Victor, who coached Corbett at Poinciana, acknowledged that contacts help in the recruiting game, but he said he believes college coaches are troubled by the transfer trend that has engulfed high school and college basketball.
“The way we progressed with Jahsean, I believe, is the right way,” said Victor, who is 40-year coaching veteran. “I’m going to say I don’t believe Jahsean is making this decision on his own. I think it’s parental influence, and a lot of time that’s what you
see now when kids switch schools. I’m hoping that whatever decision his father is making is the right decision. I know West Oaks has a lot of talent. Jahsean might get lost in the shuffle there.
“He’s an excellent student. He has great character. He is a gym rat. Everything you would want in a young man, Jahsean provides.”
Earl Corbett, Jahsean’s father, expressed no complaints about Victor or Poinciana, but said his son will benefit from playing for West Oaks within the Sunshine Independent Athletic Association, which is known for a wide-open style of basketball, fewer regulations when compared to the FHSAA, and the talent its teams attract.
“The district he’s playing in [at Poinciana] has a lot of do with me wanting him to change high schools,” the elder Corbett said. “Where he is right now as a player, he needs a higher level of competition. He’ll get that in the SIAA.”
West Oaks, which joined Central Pointe Christian of Kissimmee as the SIAA’s top teams last season, returns four college prospects and is adding at least two other rising senior transfers. The Flame picked up point guard A’Drelin “Ray” Robinson, who led Tallahassee Rickards to the Class 5A state championship last season, and Jordan Shorter, a 6-5 wing who played the past three seasons for Fort Lauderdale High.
“I’m 74 years old. I’m not about to get into a pissing contest
with anybody about a kid transferring,” Rickards coach Eli Bryant said. “This is Ray’s choice. I don’t know what they do down there at West Oaks. We won’t be on West Oaks’ schedule. We’ll play legitimate high school teams and we’ll keep running our program and competing for state championships. We’ve got 18 college graduates that have come out of this program.”
Shorter garnered high major attention while playing travel ball in 2019 for Team Breakdown, the program Gillion coaches. Corbett and Robinson played for Showtime Ballers, a program directed by Gillion’s wife and assistant coach, Diana (formerly Diana Neal).
Both Gillions teach at West Oaks and their travel-team ties help them replenish the school’s roster each season.
“High school coaches play with the hands they’re dealt and a lot of those guys are doing great jobs,” Kenny Gillion said. “I tell those guys that all the time.
“But the reality is our kids get the best of both worlds because they get the travel-team contacts and our high school season. You have to get your kids to events where they’re going to be seen. That’s what we do.”
When asked if he is poaching the public school ranks, Gillion laughed and said, “We’re moreso selecting as opposed to recruiting.
“Guys come to us asking if we have a spot. Jahsean played for Diana and wanted to come to West Oaks last year. But it wasn’t a good time with the [playing] time we could have given him. We told them that. If we were actively recruiting Orlando
there’s a lot more would be here.
“I look at like this: I don’t think guys are leaving schools just to leave. They’re looking for better opportunities for themselves. I don’t feel bad about that at all.”
Corbett averaged 13.2 points and 6.5 rebounds for Poinciana last season but was sidelined in December after suffering a high ankle sprain. He had already established himself as a prospect with his travel-team play and a stellar performance as a member of the Virgin Islands 17U national team. He averaged 21.6 points and 10.4 rebounds in five games at the FIBA CentroBasket Championships played in Puerto Rico last summer.
He held offers from Stetson and North Carolina A&T when he announced his transfer plans via Twitter on May 14. Since then he has gained an offer from Samford, and strong interest from Florida Gulf Coast, Wofford, Rice, New Hampshire and others.
Gillion said Corbett will become better by practicing daily against college size and athleticism and then going up against a loaded schedule.
West Oaks had five players who were 6-7 or taller last season. Nine of its 10 players were 6-4 or taller.
The Flame went 25-8 in a campaign that included three trips to Kentucky, including the season-ending Grind Session World Championship, and a signature victory that stopped a 23-year homecourt win streak by legendary Oak Hill Academy of Virginia. The Flame made four other out-of-state trips and made appearances alongside
kids
that
FHSAA teams at the City of Palms Classic in Fort Myers, the Breast Cancer Awareness Basketball Classic at Oak Ridge, and a National Hoopfest stop in Tampa.
West Oaks, which dropped out of the FHSAA in 2008 after being sanctioned for rules violations, has had a number of players go to junior colleges on their way to Division I play. That includes Andres Feliz, a native of the Dominican Republic who graduated from Illinois this month with Academic All-Big 10 honors; and Richardson Maitre, a Canadian who earned honor roll honors while at FAU and is now a grad transfer to Samford for next season.
The school also had alums playing at Auburn, Dayton and St. John’s last season and expects to add former players to rosters at UNC-Charlotte, Ohio University and Long Island University next season.
Gillion said West Oaks’ three 2020 D-I signees, Selton Miguel (Kansas State), Jadrian Tracey (St. Joseph’s) and A.J. Staton (Samford), are academically qualified. He has another senior heading to a JUCO and one more to a prep school and predicts both will get to the major college level.
“West Oaks has had that stigma of renegade school, low academics,” Gillion said. “It had a problem with academics before I got there. I’m not hiding from that. But it’s a complete turnaround and that is all a credit to the principal [Michelange Bertrand] and the pastor [Thomas Parlier].”