Most of them have had the grades but didn’t get much exposure when they were in high school. McClenny, a former player at Mainland High and assistant coach at Father Lopez, said 18 former Red Devils players have gone on to play in college. John Lutheran, who said he has two offers from NAIA schools but is leaning toward going to a JUCO and Josh Nunn of Ocala Vanguard, who is looking at several small schools.ĭerrick Kirk-Turner, a 2012 graduate of Pontiac (Mich.) High School, said he practiced with DSC last year as a walk-on but wasn’t on the roster and will play his first game with the Red Devils on Saturday. Other Red Devils players who now expect to play in college next year include Raheem Freeman, a 2013 graduate of Ocala Vangard, who is looking at Manatee and Polk State Glen Owen, a 2013 graduate of Ocala St. And our dream is to play basketball somewhere.“ We’ve got a lot of good players on this team, and everybody’s got a lot of heart. “It’s a great opportunity for kids to get an education and get somewhere in life. “I think this is a great program,” Tuggerson said. Point guard Kevin Tuggerson, a 2011 graduate of Ocala West Port, said he started getting interest from Johnson & Wales, an NAIA team, and some JUCO schools right after the Red Devils’ first game this season against State College of Florida Manatee-Sarasota. “I’m really interested in (NAIA power) Northwood,” said Ruby, a versatile forward who has been averaging more than 20 points per game for the Red Devils this season. Ruby has a long list of junior colleges and small four-year schools that are looking at him, his coaches said. Jones is already getting looks from Florida A&M, Johnson & Wales and Florida Memorial, McClenny and George said. We have him in a school where he’s trying to get his high school diploma.“ We really want to help him get to school.
“Shane’s been out of high school for two years,” McClenny said. Jones, a former Atlantic teammate of Ruby’s, told Ruby about the program. “We try to look out for Volusia County kids like Antonio and Shane Jones,” McClenny said. College recruiters attend the games and McClenny and George also send film of their players to colleges all over the Southeast. Keith McClenny, the academy’s owner/head coach, started the program seven years ago with assistant Derrick “Rock” George to help develop former high school players and give them a chance to play college basketball. The Red Devils have a 30-game schedule with all the games on the road against junior colleges, four-year college JV teams and other post-grad teams. The team, which currently has eight players on its roster, practices at the Holly Hill YMCA. The Red Devils is one of many post-grad programs popping up around the country trying to give second chances to players who have fallen through the cracks. Ruby, a 6-foot-7 forward, is the leading scorer for the Red Devils Basketball Academy’s post-graduate team, which will play against Daytona State College at 4 p.m. Now he is playing again, and next year he expects to play in college. “But I was like, ‘I’ve got to play basketball again.
I worked at a call center, taking calls,” he said. “I was taking classes at (Daytona State College), but I withdrew. “Nothing was really going my way,” said the 2012 Atlantic High grad, who was a basketball star with the Sharks but didn’t receive any firm college scholarship offers. The Red Devils Basketball Academy is giving former high school players who didn’t receive college offers a second chance.ĭAYTONA BEACH - A year ago, Antonio Ruby didn’t feel like he had much of a future. Red Devils coach Keith McClenny, second from right, and Derrick “Rock” George, right, talk to their players Thursday as the team gets ready to run drills at the Holly Hill YMCA.
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