Kanye West’s Donda Academy continues to attract high-profile talent
SIMI VALLEY, Calif. (BVM) – Kanye West named his latest album after his mother, Donda, in part to help keep her legacy alive. She died in 2007 after undergoing breast reduction surgery and Kanye has been committed to paying her homage with various creative projects ever since.
The billionaire businessman’s latest endeavor is Donda Academy, a new prep school that has already landed a handful of premier high school basketball commits. The Simi Valley, California (30 minutes outside of Los Angeles) academy is expected to be tuition-free and service grades K-12.
But Donda Academy is also expected to rival the talent of the star-studded Sierra Canyon Trailblazers who are led by Amari Bailey, a five-star UCLA commit, and Bronny James, the son of LeBron James, among others. The effort is off to a good start, and Friday was an important day for the relatively unknown prep school.
JJ Taylor, the top junior in the state of Illinois and a five-star recruit, announced on Friday that he is transferring from Kenwood (Chicago) to Donda Academy.
JJ Taylor headed to Donda Academy. Chicago Public League's top prospect in years joins loaded squad at Kanye West's new prep school. pic.twitter.com/M4tk1hAUJr
— Ballislife.com (@Ballislife) October 29, 2021
Later that day, one of the best high school basketball players in Tennessee, Braeden Moore, announced that he’ll be heading out west to join Donda Academy for his senior season. The 6-foot-7, three-star forward was committed to Rutgers since July 29 until also announcing the re-opening of his recruitment on Friday.
Moore was expected to be a frontrunner for the Tennessee Division II-A Mr. Basketball award after being named a finalist as a junior when he averaged 18.5 points and eight rebounds.
https://twitter.com/braeden_moore_/status/1454180048605433865
Taylor and Moore will join a pair of five-star prospects who have already committed to Donda Academy: Robert Dillingham (North Carolina) and Jakhi Howard (Georgia). Dillingham is the state of North Carolina’s top junior with offers from Auburn, Kentucky, Memphis and others, while Howard is a top-five player in the 2024 class with offers from the likes of Florida, Kansas and LSU.
Four-star prospects Zion Cruz (New Jersey), Jalen Hooks (Indiana) and Brandon White (North Carolina) are all also headed to Donda Academy.
No head coach for the team has been named yet, but Donda Academy will be backed by Adidas although the school apparently doesn’t even have a building just yet. What Donda Academy does have, though, is an unprecedented collection of high-end talent and a few games on its schedule.
The prep school is reportedly opening the season on Nov. 6 at the Target Center in Minneapolis against Minnesota Prep. Donda Academy’s schedule also includes games against Hillcrest Prep (Ariz.) and Huntington Prep (W. Va.) along with an appearance at the coveted John Wall Invitational in December.
While Kanye and Donda Academy load up on talent, the school’s focus will remain on education.
“Using an ethic of integrity and care, Donda Academy prepares students to become the next generation of leaders, thinkers and innovators by providing them with a world-class education that includes a rigorous core curriculum, and an emphasis on sustainability, creativity, critical thinking and problem solving,” reads Donda Academy’s mission.
With plenty of unknowns still surrounding the upstart academy, one thing that’s clear is that Donda Academy will field one of the most talented high school basketball teams in the country.
