MONTVERDE, Fla. - Montverde Academy is a high school basketball powerhouse with talent that competes for a national championship yearly and then fills the rosters of some of the top NCAA Division 1 basketball schools in the country. Why do some of the very best high school players in the US choose to go to Montverde, if offered the opportunity? Montverde Academy does have a picturesque and beautifully laid out campus about 30 miles West/Northwest of Orlando with Lake Apopka just to the East of its 125-acre campus and the shoreline of Lake Florence lapping at the edge of Montverde’s outdoor athletics complex on the West side. But that’s not it.
Montverde does offer world class college prep academics, but that’s also not it. It’s not because MVA does not have a football team, allowing most of the fans’ attention to be pulled into the happenings on the basketball floor. Montverde’s home gym is known as “the Nest” and it has a VIP section, elevated above the gym floor, where those lucky enough to get in are welcomed with food, adult beverages, and a comfy place to sit to socialize, watch the games and some of the best basketball talent in the United States, which is pretty damn nice. But no, that’s not it either. In fact, it’s none of that. Cutting to the chase, the simple answer would seem to be basketball, but it’s actually what's behind Montverde basketball, coach Kevin Boyle.
Boyle, Montverde’s basketball coach and Director of the Montverde Academy Center for Basketball Development, a 40,000-square foot, $6 million athletic center, has propelled the private school to become a household name in basketball circles. How? That’s easy to answer. We can start with his accomplishments on the court, which are vast. He is an eight-time national high school coach of the year by USA Today (3), Naismith (3), Max Preps, and ESPN). In 2020 he was Max Preps Coach of the Decade. Before he came to Montverde, Boyle coached St. Patrick High School in Elizabeth, New Jersey, and led that team to five state Tournament of Champions titles. It also involved some incredible battles with the legendary and 26 time state champion coach Bob Hurley. You might have heard of his two sons Bobby, the former Duke player and current Arizona State coach, as well as his baby brother Dan, coach of reigning national champion UConn. That grind helped Boyle top become one of only 63 coaches in the country to ever win 800 or more high school games.
And the grind continues today at Monverde. The 2023-"24 edition of the Eagles are currently #1 in the country and 21-0 after defeating #3 nationally ranked Prolific Prep 78-72 this past weekend to win their own Montverde Invitational Tournament, and will likely be the #1 team heading into this year’s GEICO Nationals. If Boyle’s team can run the gauntlet and be the last team standing when it’s over, it will be Montverde’s 8th national championship banner hung in “the Nest” under Boyle’s 13 year watch. In 2011 and 2012 the #1 and #2 NBA draft picks played for Boyle. He is the only high coach to pull off that double-double. A list of players he has coached reads like An All-Star game lineup. Names like Kyrie Irving, Joel Embiid, Ben Simmons, D'Angelo Russell, Michael Kidd Gilchrist, R.J. Barrett, Cade Cunningham, Scottie Barnes, Jalen Hood-Schifino, and others. During the NBA season it's nearly impossible to get through an episode of SportsCenter without hearing the name of a player that he has coached.
How did Montverde get to this point under Boyle? “Well, I think it’s communication. One you gotta build a culture, as a school, as a basketball program. And then, these kids you gotta coach ‘em hard, but you’re very transparent to them about where they are in relation with where they are trying to go.” It’s obvious by the names listed above and the many more to come that is exactly what has been and continues to be the case with Montverde Academy basketball. Liam McNeeley told me after Saturday’s win “I just thank the (Montverde) coaches for taking me on last year as a junior and just trusting me and getting me a lot better. This is the best decision I could have made, coming here.”
How did the recently developed pipeline for Montverde players to Indiana start and why? I posed that question to coach Boyle, and he said “I just think it’s, obviously Indiana has great tradition in basketball. A great fanbase. As much as anybody, when we have something said about our team, the responses from Indiana (fans) are more than any other school. Period. So, I think that resonates with the kids." There is no doubt that in today's world of social media Indiana fans are more than active. But there is more to it than just that. There has to be a path forward for players that come from Monverde, because when they leave Kevin Boyle these kids believe they are winners because, well they are. They want to continue their career on a upward trajectory and coming to Indiana has provided that opportunity. "The other thing is that coach Woodson obviously has NBA experience. For our guys it’s been good. Jalen Hood-Schifino obviously got a chance to play the point (guard) there and one year and he’s in the league.” And you can bet your candy-striped pants that Liam McNeeley is counting on just that, to come to Indiana as a pathway of getting to ‘the League.’
And Boyle thinks it’s a good move for the 6’-8” Texan, who led the Eagles with 19 points in their championship game victory over Prolific Prep Saturday. “For Liam McNeeley it’s a really good choice because, you know, depending on who they get in the portal, but I think they are going to run action, you know, run stuff for him. And that’s the biggest thing with Liam. He needs a point guard that’s looking for him in transition, and he needs somebody that’ll run some stuff for him. Either pinned down for jump shots, or hand-offs, get him going downhill. He’s better at getting to the rim than people realize on those plays.”
There is no doubt that Indiana fans are chomping at the bit to see McNeeley in an Indiana uniform and he feels the same way. He told me after a 127-40 win over Imani Christian of Pittsburg last Thursday that “I’m just really looking forward to play for Indiana, put on those cream and crimson colors and just give my all for Indiana. I’m gonna’ play as hard as I can for Indiana, every practice, and every game.”
After watching him play I have no doubt he meant every word of that. Indiana fans are probably even more excited for his arrival in Bloomington next season than McNeeley is. And if you have seen him play, you understand why. The dude can flat-out hoop! More importantly, he can do the kinds of things Indiana is desperately missing. He can shoot the three, handle the ball, and is not afraid to mix it up. He's a blue-collar, blue-chipper type of player. He wants to win and you can tell he plays like it . He's involved on both ends of the floor anytime he is in the game. But what else would you expect from someone that has been in Kevin Boyle’s system for the last two years? Montverde Academy labels itself as a college preparatory school. And that is exactly what Kevin Boyle’s basketball program is.
Below is the full conversation with Montverde's Kevin Boyle.
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