Murphy Foss and Steven Baker
Staff Writers
After helping the Jamesville-DeWitt High School Varsity Boys Basketball team bring a regional championship to J-DHS last season, 2016-17 Syracuse.com All CNY Player of the Year and J-DHS standout Buddy Boeheim decided to take the next step in furthering his basketball career this year by attending prep school. This school year Boeheim has been attending Brewster Academy in Wolfeboro, New Hampshire, playing for the school’s basketball team.
Boeheim played two years on the J-DHS varsity team before deciding to attend Brewster. In his junior season Boeheim dominated Section III, averaging 26 points, 10 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 steals, and a block. He was a captain along with seniors Matt Carlin, Terrence Echols, and Darvin Lovette. His leadership on the hardwood led J-D to a 21-4 regular season with big wins against Christian Brothers Academy and Bishop Grimes. The team also beat Syracuse Academy of Science in the sectional championship, Where Boeheim led the charge with a 28-point triple double. They went on to face Lansingburgh High School in the CNY Regional Championship, a game in which Boeheim dropped a season high 40 points.
After an extremely successful season at J-DHS, Boeheim decided that it was time to take his career to the next level. He felt that prep school, specifically Brewster, was the right step to take. “I wanted to really challenge myself and play against the best possible competition for my senior year to get me ready for college,” said Boeheim. Brewster is a prestigious prep school for basketball players, as they have won the national championship five times in the past seven years. “Travel and prep school ball have helped my game,” said Boeheim, “it has really helped me figure out what I need to work on and what I need to utilize in games.”
Boeheim was selected to be a captain at Brewster this season. “It is a tremendous honor to be a captain at Brewster especially looking at all the former captains at Brewster and the type of college and pro careers those guys had,” said Boeheim. These former captains have gone on to play at power five conference, schools like The University of Kansas, University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill, Duke University, The University of Michigan, Syracuse University. Former players currently on NBA teams include Donovan Mitchell, Chris McCollough, Thomas Robinson, TJ Warren, and Will Barton. However, Boeheim is more focused on what he can do in the present to help his team, “I just want to make sure I’m always positive on the court and someone my teammates can rely on at all times,” he said.
While prep school has been treating Boeheim well, he does miss attending J-DHS. “I miss the people most at J-D,” said Boeheim, “my friends, teachers, and coaches made [J-DHS] so great and it was a tough adjustment not being with them at first.” Boeheim’s decision was not an easy one for him, “I’m happy with my decision, obviously it was tough leaving J-D but I have been able to play with some of the best players in the country and have learned a lot from them and the coaches [at Brewster],” said Boeheim.
Prep school is also very different from a public high school, Boeheim has to adjust to being on a campus a long way from home as well as being on his own. He also lives with a roommate, four-star Oregon commit Miles Norris. “It’s weird having a roommate at first but after a while you get used to it and it is a lot of fun having him around,” said Boeheim. His schedule at Brewster is also very different than the schedule of a J-DHS student. He has classes six days per week every other week. classes are 55 minutes, nearly 30 minutes shorter than classes at J-DHS. Boeheim also has a free period during class days as well. “I’ll go to the gym or something during [my free period],” said Boeheim, “Coach will also make us have mandatory study hall after school if our grades are bad but that is usually just once or twice a week.” Although he is far from home, Boeheim is able to come home every four weeks. He also has week-long breaks and he get three weeks for Christmas and spring breaks.
In September of 2017, Boeheim announced his commitment to play basketball at SU, turning down a scholarship offer from Gonzaga University. He will be playing for his father, legendary college basketball coach Jim Boeheim, in what will be a highly anticipated season among ‘Cuse fans. “I am really excited to see Buddy play for Syracuse, it will definitely be a spooky season,” said friend and former teammate, senior Takuya Laclair.
