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Former Raptor Jerome Williams leads Findlay Prep basketball program on and off the court

TORONTO – When Jerome Williams was asked in front of a small host of reporters recently if this was where he expected to be nearly a decade after retiring from the NBA, the man better known as ‘The Junkyard Dog’ just smiled and shook his head.

Coaching high school basketball was never a part of his post-NBA career plan, but nevertheless that’s where the 40-year-old Williams finds himself now – leading the Findlay Prep Pilots from the sidelines.

“I definitely have a lot of fun here because it involves a lot of things that come naturally [including] community service [and] giving back,” Williams said after Findlay Prep, based out of Henderson, Nev., defeated Bill Crothers Secondary in the first JYD Classic earlier this month at the Air Canada Centre. “Obviously this isn’t a triple-figure job, this is just for the love of the game and that’s why I’m here.”

Justin Jackson, a sophomore small forward for the Pilots who hails from Scarborough, Ont., says he’s enjoying having someone like Williams leading the team.

“JYD is a great guy both on and off the court,” Jackson said. “On the court he’s such a mentor, he knows a lot and has been to where I’m trying to get so every little thing I just try and soak in.”

Williams played nine seasons in the NBA with four different teams including a four-year stint with the Toronto Raptors, where he became a fan favourite for his on-court tenacity, ever-present smile and his work within the community.

His love for giving back is why Williams got involved in coaching in the first place.

“I volunteered at Findlay Prep for five years, I was just in the background teaching guys, mentoring guys, and trying to get them out in their community doing goodwill service projects,” he said.

And when the team’s head coach Todd Simon moved onto the NCAA at the end of the 2012-2013 season, the door was left wide open for Williams to take over.

“They looked around and said, ‘who do we have to coach this team now? There’s JYD right there, do you want the job?’ I thought about it and I [decided] it would be a huge blessing and I jumped right in,” he said. “I’m happy to say as a rookie coach I’m 30-4 and hopefully I’ll have a chance at a national championship. That’s what we play for; we’re a top-10 team in the USA so we’ll see what happens.”

While he admits his goal is to have the opportunity to play in the national championship tournament in April, coaching teenagers in high school comes with responsibilities that extend beyond the basketball court. While building a winner is essential for any elite athletics program, education is also paramount considering many of Williams players have NCAA aspirations meaning they have to meet certain grade requirements – a 2.3 GPA – in order to qualify for athletic scholarships.

That’s partially why Findlay Prep has garnered so much attention since it was founded in 2007. Unlike some of the other schools they play against, Findlay Prep isn’t its own academic institution; instead the basketball program is tied to the Henderson International School, a nearby private school that admits students between grades one through eight. The 12 players on the Findlay Prep team are the only high school students and many of their teachers are from the Henderson International middle school.

While critics have naturally been drawn to the unorthodox education players receive as well as their lifestyle – all 12 players live under the same roof in a private residence located less than a mile from the school, according to Newsweek – Williams insists that his team puts just as much focus on books as they do on basketball.

And he does have proof to back up his point. Since 2007, Findlay Prep has a 100 percent success rate as far as leading players from high school to Division I NCAA scholarships.

Williams even teaches a ‘Global Citizenship’ class himself so his players know what it means to manage their finances and are informed on the business side of the NBA.

“We take pride in the fact we’re really trying to get these men educated and qualified for their NCAA academics,” he said. “It’s great to be offered a scholarship, but a lot of young athletes can’t take advantage of that opportunity because they’re missing a credit or they have to go back and take a class over. Right now, [this collection of players has] had the highest GPA in team history this year at a 3.3 and that doesn’t include gym. We really strive to make sure guys are in class and learning.”

And as for what it was like to return to Toronto and the Air Canada Centre, Williams called the opportunity a tremendous honour.

“I love the city [and] as people know the love never stops,” he said. “My kids were born here in Toronto, I’m here during the summer, I go up to Muskoka, I got some people up there that I know so it’s just a lot of fun.”