This kid could be special....
Cowboys find gem in Moncrieffe
Matthew-Alexander Moncrieffe studied inside a meeting room deep inside a sprawling basketball campus in Mono, Ontario.
Flanked by several coaches, he dissected film from a January game of Oklahoma State’s horrid Big 12 start. Moncrieffe and his Orangeville Prep coaches watched closely. They looked at anything and everything.
Synergy stats. Style of play.
How Moncrieffe might fit.
They broke down film of Seton Hall and Georgetown in the same way.
But Moncrieffe saw something special about OSU and coach Mike Boynton when January became February. The Cowboys turned things around on the court and won over Canada’s top basketball player.
“He was obviously hard on guys, but they were optimistic they could turn the season around,” Moncrieffe said. “The guys wanted to change the culture there amongst themselves. They were taking steps.
“It was kinda impressive to see how they did that within each other. That was something that I thought was really good.”
OSU will wrap up perhaps its best signing class in program history on Wednesday with stars like No. 1-ranked Cade Cunningham, Rondel Walker and new commit Donovan Williams.
But don’t overlook Moncrieffe. The 6-foot-7, four-star small forward was named the BioSteel All-Canada Player of the Year two straight years and has rapidly developed into a star at Athlete Institute Academy, a basketball academy that features three prep teams including Orangeville Prep.
He’ll sign his National Letter of Intent on Wednesday, taking the next step forward in his rise.
“The kid will be an NBA player,” Orangeville Prep coach Tony McIntyre said. “It’s just a matter if it’s one year or two years. He would be a top-25 to top-50 kid if he played his high school basketball in the U.S.”
McIntyre began coaching Moncrieffe in the eighth grade and immediately noticed the tall, lanky kid with athleticism. Moncrieffe was an inside player with ability to develop perimeter skills.
As a freshman, he was facing and working with future NBA talent in the Knicks’ Ignas Brazdeikis, the Thunder’s Luguentz Dort and the Raptors’ Oshae Brissett. All attended the academy.
That just pushed Moncrieffe. As a sophomore, he started spending more time in the gym than in his dorm room.
He might shooting. Or watching film. Or getting treatment. It got to the point where Orangeville Prep coaches had to kick Moncrieffe out of the gym.
“I spent a whole day in there, and it became natural,” Moncrieffe said. “It doesn’t feel right if I’m not in the gym the majority of the day.
“They’re already getting on me to rest my body and stuff like that. I’ve gotten better at that over the years, but I’m still a gym rat.”
Moncrieffe committed to OSU knowing he can play inside or out, run the floor and defend nearly every position as part of a huge recruiting class.
And Moncrieffe's official visit helped.
He visited OSU on Monday, Jan. 27, when the Cowboys lost 65-50 to Kansas. His parents came. So did Orangeville Prep associate coach Manny Dosanjh. Moncrieffe felt it was important to bring one of his coaches along.
What they saw was an OSU team struggling but full of hope. They heard Boynton’s message. It was then that they truly realized the Cowboys were a fit.
“Obviously, they turned the corner because of Coach Boynton, because of the team, because of the culture they have there,” Moncrieffe said. “I was looking at the situation they were building and the culture they were building.”
Cowboys find gem in Moncrieffe
Matthew-Alexander Moncrieffe studied inside a meeting room deep inside a sprawling basketball campus in Mono, Ontario.
Flanked by several coaches, he dissected film from a January game of Oklahoma State’s horrid Big 12 start. Moncrieffe and his Orangeville Prep coaches watched closely. They looked at anything and everything.
Synergy stats. Style of play.
How Moncrieffe might fit.
They broke down film of Seton Hall and Georgetown in the same way.
But Moncrieffe saw something special about OSU and coach Mike Boynton when January became February. The Cowboys turned things around on the court and won over Canada’s top basketball player.
“He was obviously hard on guys, but they were optimistic they could turn the season around,” Moncrieffe said. “The guys wanted to change the culture there amongst themselves. They were taking steps.
“It was kinda impressive to see how they did that within each other. That was something that I thought was really good.”
OSU will wrap up perhaps its best signing class in program history on Wednesday with stars like No. 1-ranked Cade Cunningham, Rondel Walker and new commit Donovan Williams.
But don’t overlook Moncrieffe. The 6-foot-7, four-star small forward was named the BioSteel All-Canada Player of the Year two straight years and has rapidly developed into a star at Athlete Institute Academy, a basketball academy that features three prep teams including Orangeville Prep.
He’ll sign his National Letter of Intent on Wednesday, taking the next step forward in his rise.
“The kid will be an NBA player,” Orangeville Prep coach Tony McIntyre said. “It’s just a matter if it’s one year or two years. He would be a top-25 to top-50 kid if he played his high school basketball in the U.S.”
McIntyre began coaching Moncrieffe in the eighth grade and immediately noticed the tall, lanky kid with athleticism. Moncrieffe was an inside player with ability to develop perimeter skills.
As a freshman, he was facing and working with future NBA talent in the Knicks’ Ignas Brazdeikis, the Thunder’s Luguentz Dort and the Raptors’ Oshae Brissett. All attended the academy.
That just pushed Moncrieffe. As a sophomore, he started spending more time in the gym than in his dorm room.
He might shooting. Or watching film. Or getting treatment. It got to the point where Orangeville Prep coaches had to kick Moncrieffe out of the gym.
“I spent a whole day in there, and it became natural,” Moncrieffe said. “It doesn’t feel right if I’m not in the gym the majority of the day.
“They’re already getting on me to rest my body and stuff like that. I’ve gotten better at that over the years, but I’m still a gym rat.”
Moncrieffe committed to OSU knowing he can play inside or out, run the floor and defend nearly every position as part of a huge recruiting class.
And Moncrieffe's official visit helped.
He visited OSU on Monday, Jan. 27, when the Cowboys lost 65-50 to Kansas. His parents came. So did Orangeville Prep associate coach Manny Dosanjh. Moncrieffe felt it was important to bring one of his coaches along.
What they saw was an OSU team struggling but full of hope. They heard Boynton’s message. It was then that they truly realized the Cowboys were a fit.
“Obviously, they turned the corner because of Coach Boynton, because of the team, because of the culture they have there,” Moncrieffe said. “I was looking at the situation they were building and the culture they were building.”
