Oak Hill Academy: A Legacy of Basketball Excellence and Notable Alumni
Oak Hill Academy's basketball program has cemented its place as a powerhouse in the world of high school athletics. With a rich history of developing top talent and instilling values of discipline, perseverance, and teamwork, Oak Hill has consistently produced exceptional basketball players who have gone on to achieve success at the collegiate and professional levels. This article explores the academy's legacy, its impact on student-athletes, and highlights some of its most notable alumni.
A Storied History of Basketball Prowess
Located in Mouth of Wilson, VA, Oak Hill Academy boasts a strong basketball program with many alumni becoming NBA superstars. Since the 1980s, Oak Hill Academy has amassed an impressive array of accolades, including numerous national championships and invitational tournament victories. The school has been named high school national champions nine times: 1993, 1994, 1999, 2001, 2004, 2005, 2007, 2012 and 2016.
The school is a coeducational, 100% boarding school committed to excellence in education and adolescent development. The mission of Oak Hill Academy is to inspire academic success, cultivate personal growth, and personify a healthy community while fostering relationships among students, families, and our school.
Oak Hill Academy offers a summer program.
The Oak Hill Academy Basketball Program Structure
The basketball program is structured into teams based on skill level. The Red team "is comprised of experienced players, mostly upperclassmen (11th and 12th grade). Underclassmen on the Red Team may occasionally have an opportunity to “move up” to the Gold Team the following year." The White team "is for players not yet at the Red Team level. Seniors do not typically play on the White Team."
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Notable NBA Alumni
Oak Hill Academy has a long list of famous alumni who've made it to the NBA. These prominent graduates feature former Oak Hill basketball stars who are great basketball players. Here are some of the most recognizable names:
Carmelo Anthony: A ten-time NBA All-Star who recently signed with the Los Angeles Lakers. He led Syracuse to a national championship in his only year in college and graduated from Oak Hill in 2002.
Cole Anthony: The No. 15 pick in the 2020 NBA Draft, currently playing for the Orlando Magic. He graduated from Oak Hill in 2019.
Quinn Cook: Finished out the 2020-21 season with the Cleveland Cavaliers and graduated from Oak Hill in 2011.
DeSagana Diop: Drafted as the No. 8 pick in the 2001 NBA Draft by the Cavaliers after graduating from Oak Hill. He went on to have a 12-year professional career.
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Stephen Jackson: A fourteen-year NBA veteran and 2003 NBA Champion. He was an All-American in 1996 at Oak Hill.
Brandon Jennings: A nine-year NBA veteran who skipped college to play professionally in Italy after graduating from Oak Hill in 2008.
Keldon Johnson: Won a gold medal in the Olympics as part of Team USA. A first-round draft pick from Kentucky, he graduated from Oak Hill in 2018.
Ty Lawson: Helped lead North Carolina to a national championship in 2009 before going on to a nine-year NBA career. He is a 2006 graduate of Oak Hill.
Caleb and Cody Martin: Twins who led Nevada to a surprising Sweet 16 run in 2018. Both played for the Charlotte Hornets. They are 2014 graduates of Oak Hill.
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Ben McLemore: The No. 7 pick in the 2013 NBA Draft. He signed with the Portland Trail Blazers. A 2011 Oak Hill grad.
Ron Mercer: The No. 6 pick in the 1997 NBA Draft. He won a national championship at Kentucky in 1996 and went on to an eight-year NBA career. He graduated from Oak Hill in 1995.
Rajon Rondo: A four-time NBA All-Star, two-time NBA champion, and three-time NBA assists leader. He signed with the Los Angeles Lakers. A 2004 Oak Hill grad.
Josh Smith: A former NBA Slam Dunk champion who played 13 seasons in the league. Drafted No. 17 overall by the Atlanta Hawks after graduating from Oak Hill in 2004.
Nolan Smith: First round NBA draft pick by the Trail Blazers out of Duke in 2011. Currently an assistant coach for the Blue Devils. A 2007 Oak Hill grad.
Jerry Stackhouse: A two-time NBA All-Star who played 18 years in the league. Currently the head coach of the Vanderbilt Commodores. A 1993 Oak Hill grad.
Rod Strickland: Spent 17 seasons in the NBA, ranks 13th all-time in assists.
On March 2nd, 2024, the most illustrious high school basketball program of all time proudly inducted 15 new members into its exclusive Hall of Fame class. Each inductee has left an indelible mark on the basketball world, showcasing extraordinary talent, dedication, and sportsmanship during their time at Oak Hill Academy.
Academic Excellence and Extracurricular Achievements
Oak Hill Academy is not only focused on athletic excellence, but also on academic achievement and personal development. The academy offers a variety of honors courses, including:
- Honors Algebra 2
- Honors Pre-Calculus
- Honors Spanish 3
- Honors Spanish 4
- Honors Spanish 5
- Honors Survey of World Religions
- Honors World Cultures
The school also encourages students to participate in extracurricular activities and leadership programs. For example, Roanoke college I graduated in 2020 and I spent my junior and senior year attending Oak Hill Academy. I was active in many clubs and in the leadership program as well as a national honor society student.
The academy also recognizes students for their achievements with various awards and scholarships.
For example, Senior Class 2023 Senior Scholarship Totals were $6.775,909. Valedictorian was Ruth Andrews, Salutatorian-Gracyen Clark and Star Student and Teacher-Ruth Andrews and Cindy Smith.
Scholarships included:
- Matt Posey Memorial Scholarship: Kyla Stroud
- Douglas Luke Reed Memorial Scholarship: Mason Conn
- Thomas Lee Bales Memorial Baseball Scholarship: Brian Buchanan and John Ross Craven
- Taylor Dragoo Shining Star Memorial Scholarship: Smith Chaney
- Aberdeen Rotary Scholarship: Allie Comer
- Valedictorian-Salutatorian Award- Growth Alliance: Ruth Andrews , Salutatorian - Gracyn Clark
- West Point Rotary Club North MS Medical Center Foundation: Raylee Craven and Hailey Smith
- North Mississippi Health Services Scholarships: Health Career Scholarship- Raylee Craven, Dr. Ed Miller Memorial Scholarship- Hailey Smith, Dr. Hiroji Noguchi Memorial Scholarship- Hailey Smith
- Pilot Club Norma Benjamin Math Award- Ruth Andrews , Anchor Club Leadership Scholarship- Kyla Stroud
- Waters Family Endowed Scholarship: Sara Frances Ramsay
- Southern Ionics: Mary Beth Briggs and Morgan Dabbs
- Woodmen Life Focus Forward: Gracyn Clark
- Blue Mountain Christian College: Morgan Dabbs
- East Mississippi Community College: Sims Akers, Colin Boyd, Brian Buchanan, Smith Chaney, Gracyn Clark, Mason Conn, Ty Harden, and Cole Loyed
- Mississippi State University:Ruth Andrews, Mary Beth Briggs, Allie Comer, Riley Cooper, Raylee Craven, Carleigh Danovsky, Jack Easterling, and Mattye Hemphill.
- Mississippi University for Women: Kyla Stroud
Additional School Scholarships:
- Belhaven University: John Ross Craven academic scholarships and will also be playing football at Belhaven.
- Belhaven University: Ethan Gazaway with academic scholarships.
- East Central Community College: John Leyton Lewis baseball scholarship.
- EMCC Communiversity: Paige Eaton with a certificate of acceptance.
- Itawamba Community College: Jacob Mobley with a merit scholarship.
- Mississippi Delta Community College: Sara Frances Ramsay academic and an athletic scholarship to play softball.
- Northwest Mississippi Community College: Gunter Reed academic scholarship.
- University of Mississippi: Hailey Smith academic scholarship.
- University of Mississippi: Collins Trolio athletic scholarship to play golf.
- University of Pikeville: Dalton Watt Provost Leadership Award.
Other Awards:
- Star Student/Star Teacher: The Star Student award is given to the senior with the highest ACT score and an overall unweighted GPA of 93 or higher. This year the Star Student has a 3 1 on the ACT and a GPA of 99. We are proud to present this award to Ruth Andrews. Each year the Star Student selects one teacher they feel influenced them the most. This year that teacher is Cindy Smith.
- DAR Good Citizen Award: Ruth Andrews
- Student Body President: Mattye Hemphill is recognized for serving the students of Oak Hill Academy and responsibly performing the duties of Student Body President.
- Mississippi Eminent Scholar (29 or higher ACT): The following students are being honored for achieving a super score of 29 or higher on the ACT making them eligible for the $ 10,000 Mississippi Eminent Scholars Grant. These 2 students are: Ruth Andrews & Riley Cooper
- Create's Northeast Mississippi Youth Foundation: Participation in Create's Northeast MississippiYouth Foundation, we would like to recoglize: Ruth Andrews & Jack Easterling
- Vitalant: For her blood donation to Vitalant, Gracyn Clark is being presented with this cord.
- National Honor Society - These members are selected based on scholarship, character, leadership, and service - Ruth Andrews, Colin Boyd, Mary Beth Briggs, Brian Buchanan, Smith Chaney, Gracyn Clark, Allie Comer, Riley Cooper, John Ross Craven, Raylee Craven, Morgan Dabbs, Carleigh Danovsky, Jack Easterling, Paige Eaton, Ethan Gazaway, Matt-ye Hemphill, Jacob Mobley, Sara Frances Ramsay, Gunter Reed, Hailey Smith, Kyle Stroud, and Dalton Watt.
- National Honor Society Scholarship: Ruth Andrews
- Honors Student Awards (90.0 or higher GPA): The following students are being honored for having a 90 or higher overall GPA. Ruth Andrews, Colin Boyd, Mary Beth Briggs, Brian Buchanan, Smith Chaney, Gracyn Clark, Allie Comer, Mason Conn, Riley Cooper, John Ross Craven, Raylee Craven, Morgan Dabbs, Carleigh Danovsky, Jack Easterling, PaigeEaton, Ethan Gazaway, Matt-ye Hemphill, Jacob Mobley, Virginia Ann Provias, Sara Frances Ramsay, Gunter Reed, Hailey Smith, Kyla Stroud, and Dalton Watt
- Highest Honors (Over 4.0 GPA) Stoles: The following students are recipients of Oak HillAcademy's highest honor for having a GPA of over 4.0: Ruth Andrews, Mary Beth Briggs, Gracyn Clark, Allie Comer, John Ross Craven, Raylee Craven, Carleigh Danovsky, Jack Easterling and Hailey Smith.
Individual Subject Areas: The following students are being recognized for having the highest average in these subjects:
- English IV: Morgan Dabbs
- Honors English IV: Gracyn Clark
- Senior Math: Virginia Ann Provias
- Calculus: Ruth Andrews
- Anatomy & Physiology: Gracyn Clark
- Government: Gracyn Clark
- Economics: Ruth Andrews & Morgan Dabbs
- Physics: Ruth Andrews
- Art I: Ruth Andrews
- Art Studio: Gracyn Clark
- Family Life Education: Paige Eaton
- Culinary Arts: Hailey Smith
- Design: Ethan Gazaway
- Photography: Gunter Reed
- Art Competitions: Recognized for their work in the Prairie Arts Festival Student Art Competition: 1 st place- John Ross Craven
- MAIS Chorus & Ensemble: Recognized for her superior rating in the solo competition of the MAIS Chorus & Ensemble sponsored by the Recording Academy Grammy Museum - Gracyn Clark
- OHA Annual: Recognized for serving as editor of the Oak Hill annual - Ruth Andrews
- Anchor Club: The following students are being recognized as senior members of the Oak Hill Academy Anchor Club: Ruth Andrews, Morgan Dabbs, Mary Beth Briggs, Gracyn Clark, Allie Comer, Mason Conn, Riley Cooper, Raylee Craven, Paige Eaton, Mattye Hemphill, Sara Frances Ramsay, Hailey Smith, Kyla Stroud, and Dalton Watt. The Outstanding Anchor Club Member: The outstanding Anchor Club member is the member who, over the course of four years, completed the most community service hours. This year the winner is - Kyla Stroud
- FCA Leadership Team: The Fellowship of Christian Athletes, better known as FCA, is a community working to see the world transformed by Jesus Christ through the influence of coaches and athletes. In January an announcement was made asking students who would be interested in serving in a leadership position with FCA to sign up. These students were told they would need to be willing to pray, speak, organize, encourage other students to participate in meetings, and lead FCA meetings. The following students stepped up for the challenge and ageed to become the campus leaders for FCA. When we held our first meeting on January 26 we had 27 students attend. By the end of that semester we officially had 60 members from grades 6-12. I would like to recognize the following seniors for serving on the leadership team: Ruth Andrews, Mary Beth Briggs, Ethan Gazaway, and Sara Frances Ramsay.
- FCA Praise Band: In January when we began working to form an active FCA organization on campus, it was brought to our attention that Ethan Gazaway might be willing to sing during our assemblies. When asked, Ethan was eager to help. Our first FCA assembly for all students in grades 6-12 was scheduled for January 26th . The week before this assembly, Ethan told us that there were a few others who would like to help with the music for FCA. On January 26th , five senior boys and one freshman lead our music worship service and became the Oak Hill Praise Band. They went on to play not only at all of our assemblies but also for the Fields of Faith event that was held at West Point High School and some area churches. We were recently told by our FCA district representative that he knew of no other public or private school who has a praise band and that our school has something very special. We have been blessed by these young men's willingness to serve - Colin Boyd, Brian Buchanan, John Ross Craven, Collins Trolio, and Ethan Gazaway.
- Headmaster's Award; The Headmaster's Award is presented to one boy and one girl in each grade that have exhibited positive attitudes, kindness, and compassion toward fellow students, and respect for teachers and administration. Recipients are: Ethan Gazaway and Sara Frances Ramsay.
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