Montverde Academy closed out its 2018-19 regular season with a flourish, beating Oak Hill Academy, Ranney and Roselle Catholic by a combined 94 points in a span of seven days. 

The Eagles sit at 21-2, awaiting the GEICO Nationals in New York in April. A run through the field there would seal Montverde’s fifth championship in just seven seasons, one of the most dominating runs in all of sports currently. 

This year’s squad, like coach Kevin Boyle’s other championship teams, features a deep roster of future collegiate and professional talent. Class of 2019 No. 16-ranked prospect and five-star blue-chipper Precious Achiuwa headlines this year’s roster, with Balsa Koprivicia, Omar Payne, Pavel Zakharov and Harlond Beverly all bound for major programs in the summer. 

Meanwhile, 2020 standout Cade Cunningham appears poised for an NBA future as his star rises late in his junior campaign.

Montverde reloaded nicely after significant roster turnover from the 2017-18 national championship lineup, which included R.J. Barrett. The 2018-19 team regrouped in a manner comparable to 2014-15, when the Eagles reloaded after losing D’Angelo Russell, Jordan Caroline, Justin Bibbs and others from the previous two title runs.

This Montverde team stacks up intriguingly with other past Eagle squads. 

2012-13

Final Record: 27-2 

Roster 

G - Justin Bibbs - Junior

Four-year contributor at Virginia Tech, starting point guard for the Hokies’ 2018 NCAA Tournament team. 

G - Brendan Boyle - Junior 

Son of Montverde coach Kevin Boyle, current Eagles assistant coach. 

F - Jordan Caroline - Junior

Current starter for No. 6-ranked University of Nevada, averaging 19 points and 10.1 rebounds per game. 

G - Miguel Cartagena - Senior

Landed at Division II North Greenville after one year at George Washington and one year at Central Florida College. Averaged 14.8 points per game for North Greenville in 2016-17.  

G - Kevin Cham - Freshman 

Reserve guard for AS Monaco of EuroCup. 

G – Emilio Giler - Senior 

Current Montverde sports information director.

G – Kasey Hill - Senior

Four-year starting guard at the University of Florida. Averaged 11 points and 4.5 assists for the Gators’ 2017 Elite Eight team. 

C – Dakari Johnson - Senior

Member of the one-loss 2015 Final Four-participating Kentucky Wildcats; current All-Star in the Chinese Basketball Association. 

F – Daniel Katuka - Senior

G – Michael Lucas - Senior

G – Vaughn McCall - Sophomore

F/C – Robyn Missa - Junior

G – Jalyn Patterson - Junior

Transferred from LSU to Texas Southern, where he currently averages 12.3 points, 3.9 rebounds and 3.8 assists per game. 

G – D’Angelo Russell - Junior

Named to his first NBA All-Star Team in 2019, averaging 20.3 points, 6.6 assists and 3.8 rebounds per game for the Brooklyn Nets. Was named an All-American his one season at Ohio State, averaging 19.3 points, 5.7 rebounds and 5 assists per game. 

F – Ben Simmons - Sophomore

Named to the 2019 NBA All-Star Game. Averaging 16.8 points, 9 rebounds and 7.9 assists for the Philadelphia 76ers. Named All-American one season at LSU after averaging 19.2 points and 11.8 rebounds per game. 

F – Devin Williams - Senior

Three-year starter at West Virginia from 2013-14 through 2015-16. Joined Buducnost of EuroLeague in 2019. 

F – Nick Zabotin - Senior

The Season

Montverde Academy announced its presence as a national contender in 2012-13, beating a who’s-who of established preps like Roselle Catholic out of New Jersey, revered Chicago team Simeon and La Lumiere.

Montverde concluded its first national championship campaign in style, winning three thrillers against national prep powers.

A single bucket decided both semifinal and championship wins over Prime Prep and a St. Benedict’s team with Tyler Ennis and Isaiah Briscoe in the backcourt. 

The Eagles kicked off the National invitational Tournament with a 77-71 win over perennial power Oak Hill, featuring 2017 NCAA championship-winning guard Nate Britt and 2016 All-Big Ten Conference honoree Troy Williams. The six-point Montverde win unofficially kicked off something of a rivalry, as the two powers have made meeting in the championships a routine in the years since. 

2013-14

Final Record: 28-0 

Roster 

G - Justin Bibbs - Senior

G - Brendan Boyle - Senior

G – Luke Busumbru - Junior

F - Jordan Caroline - Senior 

G - Kevin Cham - Sophomore  

F/C – Chris Egi - Senior

Spent four seasons at Harvard and played on the U-18 Canadian national team. In 2018, he was chosen as a Harvard commencement speaker.

G – Richard Kelly - Sophomore

C – Jean Marc Christ Koumadje - Junior

Current starting center at Florida State, averaging 6.5 points, 5.5 rebounds and 1.5 blocks per game. Helped the Seminoles to the 2018 NCAA Tournament Elite Eight with 6.5 points, 4.1 rebounds and 1.5 blocks per game. 

F – Makinde London - Senior

Averaged 13.6 points and 6.9 rebounds per game for Chattanooga last season, where he landed after transferring from Xavier in 2016. He joined Legnano Basket in Italy in 2018. 

F – Tahj Malone - Junior 

G – Jalyn Patterson - Senior

G – Ahmaad Rorie - Senior

All-Big Sky Conference performer at University of Montana, where he transferred from Oregon in 2016. Currently averaging 15.1 points, 3.9 rebounds and 3.6 points per game for the Grizzlies. 

G – D’Angelo Russell - Senior

F – Ben Simmons - Junior

G – Vukan Stojanovic - Junior

F/C – Ifeanyi Umezurike - Junior

Averaging 3.2 points and 3.1 rebounds per game for Florida A&M of the MEAC, where he transferred from Saint Francis following the 2016-17 season. 

The Season

Coming off its first national championship, Montverde returned a bevy of players. Their title experience showed. 

The Eagles ran the table in 2013-14 for their second national championship, pulverizing legendary New York prep power Christ The King and routing Roselle Catholic on the way to the National Tournament.

A blowout of Sagemont in the quarterfinals set up a semifinal showdown with Huntington St. Joseph Prep, a team featuring such standouts as former Seton Hall star Angel Delgado and former Indiana/current Washington Wizards center Thomas Bryant.

A hard-fought, 56-51 win set up another showdown with Oak Hill—this time in the championship. The result was similar, with Montverde claiming back-to-back championships on the strength of a 71-62 decision. 

2014-15

Final Record: 31-1 

Roster

G – Martez Cameron - Senior

In his third season as a full-time starter for MEAC member Morgan State. Averaging 7.5 points and 3.7 assists per game. 

G - Kevin Cham - Junior

G/F – Maddox Daniels - Junior 

G/F – Mason Daniels - Junior 

F/C – Noah Dickerson - Senior 

Starting center for Pac-12-leading Washington. Averaging 12.8 points and 6.7 rebounds per game. 

C – Jean Marc Christ Koumadje - Senior 

G – Ty Graves - Junior 

G – Blake Harris - Junior 

F – Marquez Letcher-Ellis - Senior

Averaged 10.2 and 7.7 seasons per game in two seasons at Rice. Transferred to Nevada but did not play before heading to the G-League. 

F – Tahj Malone - Senior

F – E.J. Montgomery - Freshman

G – Fard Muhammad - Senior

Transferred from Binghamton to Cal State Los Angeles, where he currently averages a team-high 11.9 points per game. 

G – Marcel Ponitka - Senior 

Averaging 7.9 points and 4.3 assists per game for Asseco Gdynia of EuroCup. 

F – Ben Simmons - Senior 

F/C – Ifeanyi Umezurike - Senior

G – Howard Washington - Junior

G – Tyler Washington - Junior

The Season

Despite considerable roster turnover, with D’Angelo Russell, Jordan Caroline and Justin Bibbs all gone for the college hardwood, Montverde nearly ran the table for a second time. The Eagles suffered their first loss in almost two calendar years in a 72-65 stunner against Wheeler—where 2014-15 Eagle and current Kentucky Wildcat E.J. Montgomery later transferred. 

Despite the blemish, however, it was another dominant campaign. Montverde blasted Greensboro Day School in the quarterfinals of Nationals, outlasted Las Vegas-era powerhouse Findlay Prep in the semifinals (in the process avenging a loss from the 2012-13 campaign) and then saw a familiar foe in the title game.

The Eagles trailed Oak Hill by nine in the first half. Ben Simmons rallied the comeback effort with the kind of all-around performance that’s become his hallmark in the NBA.

2017-18

Final Record: 36-1 

Roster

G – Joe Bamisile - Sophomore  

F – R.J. Barrett - Senior

Signed at Duke; leading the national-title contending Blue Devils with 22.7 points per game.  

G – Trae Broadnax - Junior

F – Karrington Davis - Senior 

Signed at Nebraska; sustained a season-ending injury before the 2018-19 opener. 

G – Mike Devoe - Senior 

Averaging 9.7 points per game for Georgia Tech in 2018-19, with 16 starts in 25 appearances. 

F – Alex Kotov - Senior 

Averaging 6.3 points and 5.7 rebounds per game at JUCO Palm Beach State College. 

G – Xavier Lampla - Junior

G - Andrew Nembhard - Senior 

Started every game in 2018-19 for Florida, averaging 7.3 points with a team-high 130 assists. 

F – Jordan Mitchell - Junior

F – Makhel Mitchell - Junior

G – Joseph Paul - Junior

F – David Petrusev - Sophomore

F – Filip Petrusev - Senior 

Averaging 7.3 points and 3.2 rebounds per game off the bench for national title contender Gonzaga. 

C – Morris Udeze - Senior 

Averaging 3.3 points and 3.2 rebounds per game in his first season with Wichita State. 

G- Trevin Wade - Senior

Averaging 2.4 points per game at South Plains College in Texas. 

The Season

Arguably the greatest collection of talent on a single Montverde roster, five 2017-18 Eagles are current contributors on high-major programs just a year later. Chief among them is R.J. Barrett, the dynamic scorer at Duke poised for a top three selection in the 2019 NBA Draft. 

Montverde went down the line in 2017-18, beating one name high school program after another: Christ The King, Roselle Catholic, Findlay Prep (twice, including in the Nationals semifinals), and Mater Dei. 

The Eagles left no doubt in a No. 1 versus No. 2 national championship showdown with University of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, winning 76-58 behind 25 points and 15 rebounds from R.J. Barrett. 

Kyle Kensing is a freelance sports journalist in southern California. Follow him on Twitter @kensing45.