Prep Academy Names Quincy Caldwell Head Coach, Adds Top Prospect
Minnesota Prep Academy has named Quincy “Coach Q” Caldwell as its new head basketball coach while adding highly touted Canadian prospect Tito Onyemachi. The leadership changes signal a new chapter for MPA as the program continues developing elite talent for college and professional basketball.
Quincy Caldwell — aka “Coach Q” — is Minnesota Prep Academy’s (MPA) new head basketball coach. The St. Paul native is renowned for his training of local basketball players, several of whom are now in the NBA.
“It’s a challenge for me to really see where I’m at in coaching,” Caldwell told MSR. His team is now on holiday break but soon will be back on the court as a 14-man roster — eight hailing from outside of the U.S. — in its 30-plus game schedule.
“It’s an opportunity for a lot of these kids to get the feel for the college life,” continued Caldwell. “The process that it takes to be a college ball player … the pressure and the endurance you gotta have. For a lot of these kids, it is going to be new.”
Earlier this month Caldwell was named president of basketball operations, and MPA Co-Founder Donnell Bratton, who hired the coach earlier this year, will become the school’s executive director as part of its leadership changes.
“To see him when I’m dealing with him on a day-to-day basis for several hours a day … super exciting,” Bratton said. “I believe that’s helping these young men develop into men, going from boys to men … building character and trust and helping these young men look forward to something that is beyond basketball.”
Another addition is 16-year-old Canadian Tito Onyemachi, a 6’7” power forward. “I am very excited to come to Minnesota and join MPA,” said Onyemachi in a press release.
He averaged 21 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals last season in Canada, and is being seen as a top prospect here in the States. “I was drawn to the program by the coach and the ability to become a better basketball player,” he added. “Their track record speaks for itself when it comes to developing talent.”
Caldwell helped develop two former prep players who later became first-round NBA draft picks. Jalen Suggs and Chet Holmgren.
“I got a solid team,” surmised the MPA coach. “Maybe we’re going to win some, we’re going to lose some, but it’s going to be a learning experience. We’re going to have fun doing it.”
Fans fed up
Sports accounted for 182 of the top 200 shows of 2024, says the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB), who recently launched an effort to make live sports on free local television more available.
“Fans are fed up. What used to be simple, turning on the TV to watch the game with family, is now a maze of expensive streaming subscriptions and login screens,” said NAB President and CEO Curtis LeGeyt in a December 18 press release
The release announced its Game On web site (https://www.nab.org/gameon/), which highlights “how local stations deliver live sports coverage that is universally accessible without a subscription, internet connection or login.”
A national survey revealed that over 80% of respondents want games on broadcast TV, while just 17% favor streaming.
Finally…
At Minnesota Timberwolves games these days it’s becoming unbearable to sit and watch in person because of the non-stop music, sound effects, and other carnival-like noise starting with player introductions and ending at the final buzzer. Add to this the experience of late sitting in the media section with a bunch of chatty folk seemingly keeping pace with the surrounding noise.
Too bad there isn’t a human mute button that works similar to the one I use on my television remote when watching games at home.
Charles Hallman welcomes reader comments to challman@spokesman-recorder.com.