TOPFLIGHT STUDENT A QUICK STUDY
NCAA basketball prospect Akot pushes on the hardwood and in the classroom
By the time Lual Akot walks out of Notre Dame High School for the last time, he will have spent seven years studying in its classrooms.
But that’s OK. It’s longer than the norm, but it’s part of his academic/athletic grand plan.
The school day for most Notre Dame students runs from 8:45 a.m. to 2:45 p.m. But not for Akot, 16. His starting time is the same, but four days out of five he doesn’t leave the Notre Dame grounds until 7:30 p.m.
But, again, Akot has no problem living with those extended days. In his mind, it’s absolutely necessary.
Akot is good enough to play for the Notre Dame Eagles senior boys’ basketball team and likely would be a star at point guard. But he had to decline, after playing two years in the junior program and winning a National Capital Secondary School Athletic Association junior Tier 1 championship in 2016.
But Akot can deal with that, too. The high school program was a stepping stone to his current level, a comfortable zone he hopes will lift him to big-time university basketball.
So why is the lean, 6-foot-4 Akot so happy, when his high school experience doesn’t appear to be cut from the same template as the average student? It’s because he’s part of Canada Topflight Academy, a prep school based out of Notre Dame for talented basketball players who are hoping to get prime-time exposure and catch the eye of NCAA division I or U Sport coaches.
“It’s really good,” Akot said about the first-year academy founded by all-things-basketball Tony House. “There’s more basketball. I focus more. I don’t feel like a regular student. When I was in Grade 9 and 10, it was mostly go to school, go home.”
But the Grade 11, academy scholarship student has already decided to stay one year beyond Grade 12 to make sure his marks are strong enough and his study and basketball work habits are at the right levels for a seamless transition into university.
When Akot is at Notre Dame, he’s in the classroom from 8:45 a.m. to 2:45 p.m. After the dismissal bell rings, his focus shifts to the academy basketball program, which starts with a mandatory 75-minute study hall session and is followed by a 75-minute weight room and basketball skills session and a two-hour practice.
Akot is the academy’s only student-athlete who went to Notre Dame before the prep school was located there by the Ottawa Catholic School Board. He started in Grade 7 and by the time he graduates in 2019, he will have spent seven years at the Broadview Avenue school.
Akot is already starting to see some rewards for his hard work on the hardwood and in the classroom. In December, Old Dominion University, an NCAA Division I school in Norfolk, Va., contacted his Canada Topflight coaches and made a verbal scholarship offer to the energetic guard. “It was an eye-opener,” Akot said about the scholarship offer. “What I’m doing now, I know will pay off. It motivates me to get more offers.”
Akot continues to build a strong resumé, which includes helping Canada Topflight Academy win the 2017 National Preparatory Association Canadian championship in April.
Canada Topflight opened its NPA Eastern Conference season by losing its first five games, but rebounded to win the next 13 games, including non-conference matches, and placed third in the standings at 10-5. After winning its quarter-final and semifinal games at the NPA championship weekend, Canada Topflight outscored London Basketball Academy 105-95 in the final.
Besides celebrating a national championship, Akot also was Canada Topflight’s only player selected to one of two NPA allstar teams (second squad). In a way, it was surprising, but it also seems to follow his career path of achievements.
In his first four years at Notre Dame, Akot has won two league championships — Grade 8 intermediate in 2014 and high school junior in 2016 — and also reached the Grade 7 intermediate final in 2013. At the 2016 National Capital High School All-Star Classic junior game, he was selected the MVP and earned a scholarship to attend the Adidas Top 40 camp last June, where he also won MVP honours.
“I knew I had to work hard, especially because I was one of the youngest,” said Akot, the second-youngest Canada Topflight player. “But I got a lot of floor time. I didn’t expect that much.
“The (academy) coaches are more experienced and know what to do to get you to the next level,” explained Akot, a B-minus student. “I’ve developed a lot. Every day I get better. My shooting is stronger and I’m more athletic in the weight room. My study habits have improved.”
House, who has operated the Rautins-House basketball camp for 28 years, will be the Canada Topflight Academy head coach for 2017-18. He has created a demanding schedule beyond the NPA matches, including three showcase tournaments in the U.S. and four matches against top American prep schools, including Oak Hill Academy. Oak Hill has helped 26 student-athletes earn NBA contracts. Canada Topflight will introduce a basketball academy for girls at Immaculata High School for 2017-18.