Prep schools draw off some of Section II's basketball talent

Graduation losses are something every high school athletic program contends with, some years more than others.

Basketball is one sport where rosters often hover around 10 to 13 players, so graduation departures one year involving six to seven players can be a significant hit.

But an increasing phenomenon in recent years has also hurt area high school basketball programs — athletes who decide to leave early to attend prep schools. The 2017-18 season is no exception as three of the area's premier players, Daniel Buie (Troy), Sophie Tougas (Glens Falls) and Grace Heeps (Columbia), have left the Capital Region to play at the prep-school level.

Buie, a two-time Times Union large-school first-team selection and someone who would have been a senior at Troy, has reclassified and will play two years at Gould Academy (Bethel, Maine) of the New England Prepatory School Athletic Council (NEPSAC).

Tougas, a 6-foot wing player who helped Glens Falls capture back-to-back Section II Class B titles in 2016 and 2017, also has reclassified and is now a sophomore at Brewster Academy (Wolfeboro, N.H.). The Bobcats, also a member of the NEPSAC, have seen 10 of their male players advance to the NBA since 2010 — including Will Barton (Denver), T.J. Warren (Phoenix) and Donovan Mitchell (Utah).

"This was a difficult decision to make, for sure. It was definitely the right one," Tougas said. "This is where I needed to be. The basketball here is excellent and the competition we're going to play is only going to make me a better player."

Tougas, who is 16 and scored more than 1,000 points in three varsity seasons with the Indians, has already landed four Division I offers, from Rhode Island, Boston University, Siena and California State Bakersfield.

Heeps, who like Tougas began her varsity career as an eighth-grader, did not reclassify and remains a junior, now competing at Northfield Mount Hermon School (Mount Hermon, Mass.). Northfield Mount Hermon is the same NEPSAC school at which Guilderland native and current North Carolina freshman guard Andrew Platek competed.

"This is definitely a big jump and a big adjustment for me. It was definitely a very hard decision to make," Heeps said. "This is a way to get a different view from a basketball standpoint. Also, Mount Hermon is a very good school academically, so it challenges me a lot here. You are here all the time for academics and athletics. It really prepares for what college (athletics) will be like."

Heeps has already drawn a great deal of college interest. Right now, her top choices are Boston College, Saint Joseph's, Northeastern, Seton Hall and the University at Albany.

Buie, Tougas and Heeps could have stayed in the area and still landed Division I scholarships. Each athlete took the prep-school route for different reasons. Tougas and Heeps both found playing in more games at the prep-school level, where most of their competition will end up as scholarship players (Division I or II), to be quite appealing.

"It is difficult being away from home, but I love it here," Heeps said. "Being here makes it easier to go away to college when the time comes."

jallen@timesunion.com • 518-454-5062 • @TUSidelines