Nice jump-shot Malik, but let me see you use that protractor...

Nestled in the hills of Southern West Virginia, Mountain State University of Beckley decided they were going to try an experiment. In 2002, The school funded a secondary education prep academy, also carrying the name Mountain State. It would be nice to say that they were opening the school to offer a world class education that benefited from a close relationship to a university, shared facilities and campus, and was done to broaden the horizons of West Virginians, by God of course.

I'm sure the fact that becoming a nationally ranked high school basketball powerhouse that actually played for the RISE/ESPN HS National Title against Oak Hill last season had nothing to do with it. I am also sure the several Dominicans playing for the baseball program had nothing to do with the desires of the school either.

Let's be serious folks, How many families in Beckley are going to be able to afford the tuition cost of sending their child there? Better question, how many of the Nationally Ranked Basketball Players were native, not only to Beckley, but West Virginia? It was business decision first, and a concern for top notch education in the Mountain State second. The school wanted to produce NBA ballers and MLB'ers first, and Professionals of any other lot second. Hell, who can blame em'? Who wouldn't want to be able to have something like that and be able to call it there's? That is the whole reason Division 1 sports exist and why cities bid for professional franchises. It's status, it's ego, and it is a shallow desire.It's sport.

Now, these athlete mills have come under fire since day one, and I am not here to make a case for or against such institutions, I for one have no problem with such secondary academies. They are not going to go away. Your local public school will never compete with them, and it is just a centuries old continuation of class, pecking order, and privilege. It's surfs and nobles, it's lords and servants, it's haves and have-nots. It's life.

There is only one thing about Mountain State Prep that I find unfortunate. Well, not counting being located in Beckley. That one unfortunate occurrence is the fact that MSP did not open it's doors for the scholastic calendar year. Yup, just like that, the National Power, who only came into being in 2002 is already a foot-note in the cut-throat and very lucrative human trading market that is nationally ranked 5 star high school sports. Now, the underclassman will have to join up with some other, more established player-mill, er prep academy, or a fly by night fed ex your homework type school that has just started, or by going to a smaller school under the guise of the Lord's work with deacons with deep pockets and full offering plates. They are the real losers here, Basketball and whatever other sport they are recruited for gave them a purpose to be in such a school, to be able to live that lifestyle, to have a chance to escape their doom and gloom. A chance to rise above other shortcomings. It gave them an opportunity. Let's face it, it isn't their reading level or how quick they are at future problem solving. And those poor Dominicans that will either be deported back home to nothing and assume a life of crime or try their luck and taking up refuge somewhere else, or hope they can get in one of the MLB training facilities in their homeland.

The reason sited by the school was economic, claiming that the school(athletic program) ended the year with a deficit of 165,000 dollars, which may sound like it was not that big of a deal, but administrators said they projected that number to increase to upwards of 400,000 by close of a following school year. Still, a private school had to expect to run at a loss for a period of time, after all, it's a BUSINESS. your in the red for a long time before you start even sniffing the black.

There may be some deep-rooted scandal that was going to be exposed and to save face and make sure it was never brought to any one's attention, they decided to fold. Or maybe not. I mean, you can never really know, and to prove that point, one need look no further than our very own on again off again Private school power Rose Hill. Who even knows what is true and what is not out there at that place. Once again, would like to point out I think RH is full of great people and I am somewhat of a RH supporter. Point is, that if they had any sincere wishes for the betterment of secondary learning standards and offering opportunities, they could have restructured and put less emphasis on the recruitment of 'student-athletes' and just concentrated on the little things and have a modest sports program. But, I would assume, because I have no first-hand knowledge of the fact, that a semi-competitive private school for the WV state basketball season is not as attractive as a ESPN National Power. I could be way off there...but I think I might be right.