Many may have not heard of Moravian Prep yet, however it is a school you quickly need to get on your radar. Jeremy Ellis, a former JUCO basketball player and coach, who has a professional background in church planting and kinesthetic strength development planted a school in Hickory, North Carolina.
If you know about basketball lore in the state of North Carolina, you know of the success that Patterson School. The school churned out NBA players such as Hassan Whiteside, Arsalan Kazemi, Jordan Hill, and Wesley Johnson, is located about 5 miles north of where Ellis has Moravian Prep.
Stepping into the gym at Moravian you instantly know this place is all about work. There are hip hop beats blasting in the corner, there is the school’s core values all over the wall, the gym is hot and always full of kids doing something, and you can always hear metal clinging as people are getting in their work in the weight room. It is a great set up for kids who have graduated HS and need to focus on a test score and improving rapidly at basketball
Now Moravian has enough kids to create two teams and have enough talent for a steady stream of college coaches come through the gym.
The Committed
Weber State secured the commitment of a stud with 6’8” Emmanuel Nzewski. With an extra year at Moravian Prep, Nzewski will be even more prepared to quickly adapt to college basketball. A native of the Netherlands, Nzewski has face up ability and pick/pop touch to 18’. He is very strong and explosive, looking to put his man in the rim.
The Dogs
If anything, Moravian has a stable of dogs at the point guard position. 6’ Tyler Hooker, 5’9” Julius Barnes, and 5’8” Juwan Smith. Hooker comes from Hillcrest High School where he led his team to two consecutive South Carolina 4A State Championship game, winning as a junior. Barnes comes from Garner High School where he won the North Carolina 4A state championship game as a senior. Smith comes from St Mary’s Ryken in Maryland where he picked up and offer from NJIT. These three are dogs, they get into on defense, and carry a toughness on offense.
The New Name
Its been an interesting journey for 6’5” Colton Kolowski as he started out with Chicago’s Joliet Catholic and graduated last year from Elev8 Academy. Now he has found himself at Moravian Prep, and should really experience a growth in his recruitment. Already qualified, Kolowski can focus just on basketball. Through the first week of practice, it has shown with East Tennessee State, UT Chattanooga, Sacred Heart, Tennessee Tech, and others showing interest in him. Kolowski is a smooth combo guard with comfort on the ball, deep outside range, and highlight reel explosion.
The Intrigue
Coming to the United States from Sydney, Australia 6’10” Duam Duwan didn’t have much fan-fare. Fast forward to a week of workouts at Moravian Prep and Duwan already carries offers from Towson and Lasalle. Duwam is very long and very skilled for a kid his size. He is most comfortable handling the ball on the wing but also uses his length and quick second jump to protect the rim and grab boards. As he continues to add weight, expect more to come from him.
The Winner
All the kids at Moravian are great kids, but it seemed to stick out that 6’ Christian Jeffords and 6’4” Romaeo Ferguson win everywhere they go. Natural leaders Jeffords carried a 4.5 GPA through Conway HS and Ferguson led his Burlington School team to a NCISAA State Championship game. Jeffords is scoring point guard who plays with a lot of swag and skill. Ferguson gets it done as a point guard. He defends multiple positions, sees over the defense, and in this open gym he made shots with range.
The Lineage
Back in the 80s and 90s Xavier McDaniel and Shawn Kemp were two of America’s favorite players. Fast forward to 2015 and Moravian Prep has the son of each on their roster. 6’5” Xavier McDaniel Jr graduated from Hammond School in Columbia. Like his dad, he is a crazy athlete, who can defend multiple areas as a tweener forward. 6’6” Jamar Kempgraduated from O’Dea High School in Seattle, Washington. He is a skilled power forward with touch, IQ, and a great passer.