Athlete Institute
The Athlete Institute is an athletic centre located in Mono, Ontario. It is made up of two facilities, the training centre and the fieldhouse. The institute is home to The Orangeville Prep Basketball Academy, who compete in the Ontario Scholastic Basketball Association (OSBA).[1] Orangeville District Secondary School provides academic instruction for the institute's students. It was formerly home to the Orangeville A's of the National Basketball League of Canada (NBL). Athlete Institute is currently sponsored by Nike and BioSteel.
 | |
| Location | 207321 Highway 9, Mono, Ontario, Canada L9W 6J2 |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 43.93210°N 80.04312°W |
| Owner | Jesse Tipping |
| Operator | Jesse Tipping |
| Opened | September 2010 |
| Tenants | |
| Orangeville A's (NBLC) (2015–2017) Athlete Institute Prep (Ontario Scholastic Basketball Association) (2012–present) Orangeville Prep (Ontario Scholastic Basketball Association) (2010–present) Athlete Institute Red (Ontario Scholastic Basketball Association) (2018–present) Athlete Institute Black (Ontario Scholastic Basketball Association) (2018–present) | |
History
The institute was founded in September 2010 by colleagues Jesse Tipping and Adam Hoffman. Tipping followed the dreams of his father, James, who wanted to create the best basketball facility in Canada.[2] Tipping would later compete with the Brampton A's, an NBL Canada team owned by his family, which had grown rich through the trucking industry.[3] The A's relocated to Orangeville and claimed the Athlete Institute as their home arena.[4]
The Athlete Institute has received praise from several players, including local high school basketball player Jalen Poyser, who said, "I thought it was like an NBA facility when I got here."[3] The Toronto Star credited the institute for attracting top talent from around the world. The newspaper also considered Tipping as one of the "five most important people in Canadian basketball."[5]
In September 2014, the institute received significant exposure when highly touted 2016 NBA draft prospect Thon Maker joined the program; he went on to become the first high schooler to be taken in the first round of an NBA draft since 2005.[6]
Orangeville Prep
Orangeville Prep is the national team at Athlete Institute. They compete in The Grind Session in addition as the Ontario Scholastic Basketball Association (OSBA). In the 2019-20 OSBA season, Orangeville Prep won the championship, and had a 19–0 record in the regular season.
The team and the school are the subject of the 2021 CBC Television documentary series Anyone's Game.[7]
| Number | Position | Name | Height | Grad Year | Hometown | Post-Secondary Commitment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | PG | Jalik Dunkley-Distant | 6'3 | 2024 | Stoney Creek, Ontario | |
| 1 | PG | Darius DeAveiro | 5'11 | 2021 | Ottawa, Ontario | Valparaiso |
| 2 | SG | Justice Gordon | 6'4 | 2022 | Milton, Ontario | Wayne State |
| 3 | SF | Khenyan Stirling | 6'5 | 2022 | Toronto, Ontario | Toronto Metropolitan |
| 4 | PG | Jefferson Monegro | 6'4 | 2022 | LaSalle, Quebec | Western Michigan |
| 5 | SF | Enoch Kalambay | 6'7 | 2022 | Gatineau, Quebec | Tallahassee CC |
| 6 | G | Wilson Dubinsky | 6'2 | 2021 | Ottawa, Ontario | Seward County CC |
| 8 | SF | Justin Chase | 6'6 | 2023 | Toronto, Ontario | UNB |
| 10 | G | Jahnai Dunkley-Distant | 6'5 | 2024 | Stoney Creek, Ontario | |
| 11 | SF | Majambu Mbikay | 6'8 | 2022 | Châteauguay, Quebec | Florida Southwestern CC |
| 12 | G | Aaron Aboonabi | 6'2 | 2023 | Guelph, Ontario | |
| 13 | G | Jayden Samarasekera | 6'0 | 2023 | Hong Kong | |
| 15 | PF | Rory Stewart | 6'9 | 2022 | London, United Kingdom | Rhode Island |
| 21 | G | Izan Rooke Mora | 6'0 | 2024 | Madrid, Spain | |
| 24 | C | Mustafo Vanjov | 7'0 | 2022 | Tajikistan | Curry College |
| 25 | G | Alberto Menendez | 6'2 | 2022 | Waterloo, Ontario | |
| 30 | G | Tristan Louka | 6'1 | 2023 | Richmond Hill, Ontario | |
| 33 | G | Jonathan Gaspard | 5'11 | 2024 | Nepean, Ontario | |
| 35 | G | Nishaan Singh | 5'11 | 2025 | Oakville, Ontario | |
| - | Head coach | Tony McIntyre | ||||
| - | Assistant coach | Olivier Jean-Charles | ||||
| - | Assistant coach | John Sedore | ||||
| - | Assistant coach | Koven Padayachee | ||||
| - | Strength & conditioning coach | Tyler Schneider |
Notable alumni
- Kyle Alexander (born 1996), basketball player for Hapoel Tel Aviv of the Israeli Basketball Premier League
- Ignas Brazdeikis, professional basketball player for BC Žalgiris
- Oshae Brissett, professional basketball player for the Indiana Pacers
- Luguentz Dort, professional basketball player for the Oklahoma City Thunder
- Matur Maker, professional basketball player who last played for the Canterbury Rams
- Thon Maker, professional basketball player for the Fujian Sturgeons
- Jamal Murray, professional basketball player for the Denver Nuggets
References
- "About". AthleteInstitute.ca. Retrieved 11 November 2015.
- "Staff Members". AthleteInstitute.ca. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 11 November 2015.
- Friesen, Joe. "Ontario program aims to keep Canada's basketball talent at home". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 11 November 2015.
- "Pro basketball coming to Orangeville". The Orangeville Citizen. Retrieved 11 November 2015.
- "Top five most important people in Canadian basketball". Toronto Star. Retrieved 11 November 2015.
- Biancardi, Paul (September 5, 2014). "Thon Maker heading to Canada". ESPN.com. Retrieved April 19, 2016.
- Debra Yeo, "CBC's fall slate includes a series about an Orangeville basketball school". Toronto Star, May 27, 2020.