Part of that exposure comes automatically with the competition that NMH faces on a week-to-week basis in the New England Prep School Athletic Conference, whose Class AAA division has in recent years produced Nik Stauskas, Maurice Harkless, and Andre Drummond. The top-notch level of play prepares prospects for college basketball, while also bringing dozens Division I talent evaluators and coaches to games.

“When we used to play at NMH our conference had three or four, up to seven or eight Division I players,” Albrecht said. “These were big time players you were playing against. All of the size and athleticism was much like college basketball.”

Along with competing on the court, potential recruits spend much of their time ensuring that their work in the classroom meets the necessary academic standards. To bridge the gap between high school and college, Carroll’s college-esque athletic program is coupled with an academic structure that is specifically tailored for potential Division I athletes.

“We’re not a high school--the only high school thing about us is the age of our kids,” Carroll said. “I call this a pre-college.... We’re as close to college as you can get.”

With students taking three full-year courses each semester and six total for the year, the school work is specifically aligned to be as close to a college curriculum as possible.

“Most high schools stop at AP Calculus, but these kids can go years beyond that here,” Carroll said. “[Students] can take linear algebra and number theory, so they have that opportunity to be in a collegiate type of experience [at NMH].”

Switching schools also gives players more flexibility in the recruiting process, as transferring to NMH often entails a reclassification of the student’s current grade. The process is designed to allow the players an extra year of recruiting and academic preparation and, according to Cummins, most players at NMHtake advantage of the opportunity to get ahead.