- March 30th, 2011, 1:00 am
#344696
6'4 200
Shooting Guard
Rise Academy (Philadelphia, PA)
24.7 points, 6.3 rebounds and 4.1 assists
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6'4 200
Shooting Guard
Rise Academy (Philadelphia, PA)
24.7 points, 6.3 rebounds and 4.1 assists
Rise guard Warren Gillis recently got offers from Penn, Coastal Carolina & S. Miss, & interest from Tulane, OK St, Tennessee & Liberty #fbrivals
Warren Gillis, 6'4: interest from Villanova, Nebraska, Temple, La Salle, Indiana Statearticle
Gillis finds suitors at unique Philly programgame against findley prep
Fresno State's football program popularized the mantra, "Anybody, Anytime, Anywhere," but Philadelphia's Rise Academy is taking it to a new level this high school basketball season.
Rise Academy is taking a unique approach to providing exposure for its players and early results indicate it may just be working.
Philadelphia basketball organizer Sam Rines started Rise Academy in 2005 as an attempt to provide a full-service destination for hoops prospects – on-court skills and training, conditioning, nutrition, college placement and consulting. Rines now serves as the athletic director.
Warren Gillis, Rise Academy
Vin Sparacio joined the program prior to the 2009-10 season as head coach.
"Our goal was to do everything different than every other prep school," Sparacio said. "We want to give the kids a chance for exposure in front of high-level coaches all over the country. We play an independent schedule and play everybody."
And Sparacio means everybody.
Included in the Academy's exhaustive October-to-April schedule are standard public high schools, academy programs like Findlay Prep (Henderson, Nev.), post-graduate programs like Brewster Academy (Wolfeboro, N.H.) and even junior colleges. There are over 70 dates listed on the team's schedule at sites in over a dozen states.
Tuition at Rise can cost up to $23,500 per year, but athletes from California, New York, West Virginia and Canada – a mixture of high school students and post-graduates – are on the roster this winter in hopes of catching the eye of the right college coach.
Warren Gillis, a transfer from Academy of the New Church (Bryn Athyn, Pa.), has a chance to be one of Sparacio's first big success stories. A 6-foot-4, 200-pound guard, Gillis averaged 9.0 points, 4.4 rebounds and 3.6 assists per game as a senior at ANC, but college interest was primarily coming from Division II football programs.
His post-graduate season at Rise has expanded his options dramatically. Gillis is posting 24.7 points, 6.3 rebounds and 4.1 assists per game, including 31 points against nationally-ranked Findlay Prep, 29 against Brehm Prep (Carbondale, Ill.) and 27 against Brewster Academy.
"He has excelled at everything put in front of him while at Rise," Sparacio said.
Colorado State, Florida State, Nebraska, Rice, San Diego, South Alabama, Texas Christian, Tulane and Virginia Commonwealth are among the schools that have taken notice and expressed interest.
Gillis' performance against Findlay Prep was a signature moment for the program, as Rise pushed the two-time defending National High School Invitational champions to the wire before losing 95-84.
But there isn't a lot of time to celebrate at Rise. The next game or road trip is usually just hours away.
"Played Findlay to a standstill. Tape will be available next week for coaches. Still have 15 games left," Rines relayed Feb. 20 via his Twitter account.
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--Fumble (1961-2009), RIP
- By ECC29
- By Purple Haize