Rainier Beach HS produces "as many (NBA players) as Brooklyn, Manhattan, and the Bronx combined."

[Devizier]

Interesting article by Joseph Swide in the Classical.
 
On Jamal Crawford's involvement with his HS alma mater:
 

 
Inside, everything is drenched in Beach basketball's blue and orange. On the far wall, retired numbers for Phil Heath—a basketball player from Beach who later played at the University of Denver before becoming a bodybuilder and winning three straight “Mr. Olympia” titles from 2011-2013—Terrence Williams, Nate Robinson, and, of course, Jamal Crawford line the space next to the “CRAWFORD COURT” scoreboard. There is no doubt as to who paid for the renovations to the gym. Everywhere is branded with “CRAWFORD COURT” signage, as if a populist emperor had rechristened his capital.

 
Crawford still lives just walking distance from the court bearing his name—there are actually two Crawford Courts, since he also funded the renovation of an outdoor court at a local park—and he spends just about all of his off time here. Crawford was, for instance, at the Vikings' win on February 15th. Even when not here, he tweets support after every Vikings game for his #BeachBoyz.
 
Crawford's mythic high school career at Beach as a guard-slash-demigod culminated with the 1998 state championship— the second in the school’s history—and sparked the school’s era of dominance. Rainier Beach has won five state championships over the last 12 years. In that time, Crawford has done as much as anyone to support Seattle basketball and cultivate the familial bond among the community of local stars from here to Tacoma that calls itself “The Home Team.”

 
 
On the current team:

 
Those most recognizable student is 6’7” senior and Louisville commit Shaqquan Aaron, who moved all the way from California to go to high school at Beach. Strange as it this seems if framed in a non-basketball context, such a thing would have been entirely unthinkable a few years ago.

 
Aaron, flanked by two teammates, surges down the court on the fast break. But instead of finishing at the rim himself or laying the ball off to a teammate, he sort of just tosses a lob into the empty space towards the basket and leaves the scene—like a referee tossing a jump ball or the machine from Jurassic Park delivering a hapless cow to velociraptors— trusting that one of his teammates will finish. He was correct. A couple possessions later, someone throws a lob to a cutting Murray that looks far too overcooked and surely he can’t get to—and oh my God how is he still climbing higher and how is he catching that and yeah he just dunked that didn’t he yikes. Behind me, that college student seems to be realizing that the truth is surpassing the legend. “I haven’t seen real basketball like this in a long time,” he says.
 
But this isn’t real basketball. It can’t be. This is like one of those over-the-top sports movies in which every play is a thunderous alley-oop or swaggering pull-up three. In the second quarter, senior forward Dajuan Piper gets out on a fast break with no defender in front of him and unleashes a ridiculous two-handed rock-the-cradle number. As he lands and turns to run back up the court, he stays hunched over low with his arms outstretched, staring into our section with a confrontational expression that says something like, “Oh word? You didn’t think I could do that?”

 

 

[Brickowski]

LOL.  Rainier Beach HS has produced exactly 4 NBA players, starting with Doug Christie.  For comparison purposes here is a list of NBA players who played HS ball in NY: http://www.basketball-reference.com/friv/high_schools.cgi?state=NY   The list covers the state as well as the city, but NYC alone has produced 13 HOF players, never mind the others.
 
I suppose a little hyperbole is excusable, but that headline is a little too much.

 

[Fishercat]

LOL.  Rainier Beach HS has produced exactly 4 NBA players, starting with Doug Christie.  For comparison purposes here is a list of NBA players who played HS ball in NY: http://www.basketball-reference.com/friv/high_schools.cgi?state=NY   The list covers the state as well as the city, but NYC alone has produced 13 HOF players, never mind the others.
 
I suppose a little hyperbole is excusable, but that headline is a little too much.

 
I suppose they should have included "current" in that quote (though produces implies current).

 

[Brickowski]

Well, there are two Rainier Beach alums currently in the league: Jamal Crawford and Nate Robinson.  Terrence Williams is playing in the D-league.
 
There are three current NYC players who are active:  Metta World Peace, Kemba Walker and Kyle O'Quinn. 
 
Here is ESPN's list of the top 100 H.S. recruits for 2014: http://espn.go.com/college-sports/basketball/recruiting/playerrankings
There are four players from NYC on the list, only one from Rainier Beach (Shaqquan Aaron).

 

[Brickowski]

deleted

 

[Lose Remerswaal]

Not for long for Metta

 

[Grin&MartyBarret]

Joakim Noah, too. He played 3 of his 4 high school seasons in New York then transferred to prep school.

 

[Brickowski]

Not for long for Metta

Yes, we'll see where he lands after the rumored buyout.  Maybe he goes to Europe like another Queens product,  Lamar Odom.
 
It's certainly true that NYC high schools aren't producing nearly as many NBA players as before.  Some of the legendary coaches, like Jack Curran at Archbishop Molloy, are gone. The AAU system absorbs NYC players and directs  them to basketball factories like Oak Hill, or they spend a year at prep schools like New Hampton or South Kent to get their grades up.   Both of those schools are rapidly becoming factories in their own right.  Plus there has been migration to the suburbs, so you see more players from Long Island, Westchester and North Jersey.  
 
I have nothing against great HS programs like Rainier Beach or DeMatha.  In fact, I'd love to see more players coming from real city high schools and fewer from the factories.

 

[ThePrideofShiner]

LOL.  Rainier Beach HS has produced exactly 4 NBA players, starting with Doug Christie.  For comparison purposes here is a list of NBA players who played HS ball in NY: http://www.basketball-reference.com/friv/high_schools.cgi?state=NY   The list covers the state as well as the city, but NYC alone has produced 13 HOF players, never mind the others.
 
I suppose a little hyperbole is excusable, but that headline is a little too much.

 
Well, the author specifically stated that Rainier Beach has produced more than Brooklyn, Manhattan and the Bronx - not New York City. So, are the NBA players you referenced from those three boroughs or are they from Queens and Staten Island?

 

[Brickowski]

Well if you limit it to current players, I suppose that's right.  Kemba Walker went to Rice HS, in Harlem (which is in Manhattan and which has since closed) but the other two went to high school in Queens.

 

[ThePrideofShiner]

The author is obviously threading a very fine needle. Probably mainly to get his story noticed.