![]() ![]() Maybe they were able to do so for a short period of time, but not like Oak Hill has. ![]() Wilkie's longevity nearly matches Smith's, and by running the nationally renown City of Palms for decades, he's seen many programs try to mirror Oak Hill's. ![]() "The last 10 years, everybody thinks they can be Oak Hill Academy, and a very few have succeeded." "Twenty-five years ago, 20 years ago whatever it might've been, there was really only one Oak Hill and one or two imitators," Wilkie said. The GEICO Nationals, which returned to Fort Myers for the second straight year, features many Oak Hills. They created a reputation of being factories and also of poaching talent from high school programs. That's because Oak Hill and prep schools like it were viewed as threats to high school basketball. "I pulled him aside a few years ago, I said 'You know the funny part to me is that you used to be the bad guy,'" Wilkie said. Back then there were only a few other similar prep schools, where frequently high school players would transfer for their senior season to improve academically and athletically and catch the eyes of Division I schools. When Smith became the head coach in 1985, he was the sixth since 1977. Oak Hill's beginnings on the road to what it has become were a bit rough. He got three players from New York City and another from Richmond, Virginia, and the Oak Hill basketball powerhouse was born. In 1976, Oak Hill Academy athletic director Chuck Isner asked his dad, board president Richard Isner, about adding scholarships and signing high school basketball players. "I just felt it was the respectful thing to do," Wilkie said. He made sure one of those was Smith's final home game at Oak Hill, an 81-65 victory over Love First Christian on March 5 in Turner Gym. Wilkie was there Thursday, returning the night before from a trek of over a month where he saw 51 high school basketball games in 15 states and the District of Columbia. In December, Oak Hill lost to Montverde Academy, 60-55, in the championship game, also played at Suncoast Credit Union Arena. Players to watch: High School Basketball: Who are 20 players to watch in the 2022 GEICO Nationals on ESPN?ĭonnie Wilkie, who has overseen the Culligan City of Palms Basketball Classic in Fort Myers since 1985, has had Smith and the Warriors in his tournament several times over the years. How to watch: How to watch the GEICO Nationals boys and girls high school basketball national championships I've coached a couple of my players' sons, so I've coached that long." I said how old are you? He said I'm 55, and I'm like 'Man, I do need to retire.' I talked to one of them the other day and I wished him happy birthday. I have relationships with all of my guys. "I've got to coach a lot of great players. "We've had some great teams," said Smith, who has won nine national titles and whose victory total is third all-time. That ended Thursday with an 81-67 loss to Link Academy of Branson, Missouri, in the first round of the GEICO Nationals at Suncoast Credit Union Arena in Fort Myers. The 66-year-old announced in February that this was his last season. ![]()
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