The Noble Preparatory Academy (NPA) Spartans recently returned from their annual educational tour in Canada, and while there, they competed in the 22nd Annual Carl Dorland Basketball Classic. The classic is held at Ridley College in St. Catherine's, Ontario, Canada.
For the second year in a row, the Spartans emerged as tournament champions, dropping just one game along the way. In the opener, they lost 64-50 to the Eden School, but quickly bounced back to take a 62-58 win over Dundas Valley.
In the semifinal game, the Spartans cruised to a 69-48 win over the York School. Jarad Richardson led the way for the team in that game, with 14 points, and Keito Robinson chipped in with 13. In the championship game, Noble Prep scored a 58-53 win over St. Catherine's. Stephone Augustin and Robinson both finished that game with 18 points.
The purpose of Noble Prep's annual trip is to expose its student athletes to several of its partner institutions in North America.
"The tour gives them (players) an opportunity to get exposure from these schools, but most importantly they are academically sound," said Bullard. "I know this team can play - they can compete with anybody in the country. I know the level they are at in terms of basketball. This is why we have decided not to just focus on making all our attempts locally but looking ahead for the betterment of the students.
"These schools know that when they get one of our players, or anyone associated with us, they are getting sound, solid young men with their priorities in the right place. I always preach the importance of building these guys up as total packages. Too often we overlook that these are student-athletes, students first and then athletes."
Noble Prep has had a number of its students continue their basketball careers in Canada at its partner schools.
Last season, former NPA players Shamar Burrows and Livingston Bromwell led the Ridley Tigers to their first provincial title in school history when they won the Ontario Federation of School Athletic Associations (OFSAA) Class A boys basketball championship. The Tigers qualified for the OFSAA tournament after an impressive season in which they finished with the silver medal in the CISAA (Conference of Independent Schools Athletics Association) final.
Earlier in the season, the pair led the Tigers to the Upper Canada College Invitational Tournament title.
At the collegiate level last season, a trio of former NPA players (Marako Lundy, Delroy Grandison and Tenero Ferguson) led the Niagara Knights to the second round of the Ontario Colleges Athletic Association (OCAA) playoffs.
Noble Prep currently has three alumni on the Knights 2016-17 roster - Van Hutchinson Jr., Kevin Cooper and Jordan Wilson.

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