Montreal’s basketball talent shoot for the stars after Olivier-Maxence Prosper breaks into NBA | CBC News

At the William Hingston Centre in Montreal’s Parc-Extension neighbourhood, the city’s U12 and U17 basketball prodigies dribbled and dunked, showing their skills on the court as part of a tournament organized by Brookwood Elite, a basketball program that encourages local kids to pursue their education while helping them compete in high profile games in the United States.

Excitement reigned in the gymnasium as balls swished into the nets. Who among them would be the next Montrealer to play in the NBA? 

On Thursday, former Brookwood Elite player Olivier-Maxence Prosper was picked 24th in the first round of the NBA draft. The previous year, fellow Montrealer Bennedict Mathurin was sixth, and before them, Luguentz Dort and Khem Birch broke into the American league, inspiring the city’s young basketball talent to follow in their footsteps.

Several of Prosper’s coaches and mentors were in attendance for Friday’s tournament, still on a high from the triumph of their former basketball star. 

WATCH | Olivier-Maxence Prosper picked 24th overall in NBA draft: 

Montreal’s Olivier-Maxence Prosper selected 24th overall in NBA Draft

Olivier-Maxence Prosper from Montreal is picked 24th overall in the 2023 NBA Draft by the Sacramento Kings but he will be joining the Dallas Mavericks via a trade.

After coaching Prosper for two seasons, Brookwood Elite coach Kenny Clyke said his eyes teared up when he saw Prosper shake the NBA commissioner’s hand. 

“I was just sitting there crying. I coached him for two seasons, so it was really a proud moment for me as a coach to see how far he has come,” said Clyke.

Prosper’s talent was obvious from the start, according to Clyke. During the first year, the goal was to get him playing to his potential and the next year was about building his resilience, strong enough with the never-say-die attitude needed to compete against the best south of the border. 

“Dreams can come true. This is an amazing time for our country and basketball,” he said. “The sky’s the limit. It’s only going to get better from here,” said Clyke. 

Joey Mckitterick, the co-founder and co-director of the Brookwood Elite, streamed the draft from his phone. An educator by day, he was at the school prom but squeezed in the time to see Prosper taste success.

“It means a lot …It’s just beyond a dream. It’s something that no one could ever have imagined,” said Mckitterick. 

“Our goal was never to send kids to the NBA. It kind of happened by accident. But now the path has been laid. What it does is just gives us a bigger platform to kind of help more kids. And that’s what we want to do, is just help kids achieve better academic success and use basketball as a vessel.”

Prosper’s maturity and goal-setting, he said, made him stand out.

Coach Dwight Walton, who represented Canada at the Olympics, said Prosper’s progress in the last few months has been nothing short of “meteoric.” 

“Great student, never neglected that. Great basketball player. You cheer for somebody who’s just an overall good person, so he deserves all the flowers that he’s getting today,” said Walton.

“Dreams can come true. This is an amazing time for our country and basketball … The sky’s the limit. It’s only going to get better from here.”

‘I want to see myself in his shoes’

Brookwood Elite player, Nolhan Guillaume, has watched Prosper on the court since he was 13 years old. He said playing for the same team — sporting the same jersey — fills him with pride.

“It was so nice to see someone like me who has dreams and then he made it,” said Guillaume, who took part in Friday’s tournament. “It motivates me a lot. It makes me want to play harder, work harder. I want to see myself in his shoes.”

Seeing his peers break into the NBA proves Montreal is now on the competitive basketball map, he said. 

“I think now Montreal is getting more respect,” Guillaume said. “We’re getting better and better.”

Daven Larosilière, another youth wearing the Brookwood jersey, agreed. 

“I want to be the fifth NBA player that comes through Brookwood,” he said. 

Building courts, giving back

Simeon Pompey has spent the past few decades trying to get kids in the neighbourhood of Notre-Dame-de-Grâce to stay active by playing sports. As director of Comité Jeunesse N.D.G., securing municipal funding to build basketball courts in the community has been a major part of the cause. 

“A lot of the kids come from the inner city, and they don’t have driveways and stuff like that. So they need outdoor facilities to develop their skills,” said Pompey, who wants to see more courts built across the city.

Growing up, Prosper spent much of his time on the basketball courts of NDG, and Pompey wants other kids to take notice. 

While people like Prosper give kids a role model, they also show that basketball programs not only keep youth physically active, they also encourage the athletes to stay active as members of their communities, he said.

“Ninety per cent of the time they come back and they give back to the community, so they can actually identify with that,” said Pompey. “I think it’s going to help holistically from a community standpoint.”