Boston.com / Sports / Prep school glories take bad bounce:
“NCAA sees rise, and fall, of Fitchburg hoop stars
“FITCHBURG — In the realm of New England prep schools, Notre Dame of Fitchburg looks like a lost soul. No leafy campus. No first-rate library, arts, or athletic facility. No rich endowment. No accreditation.
“But in six seasons since the once-traditional parochial school dodged financial peril by launching a postgraduate basketball program, tiny Notre Dame (enrollment: 50) has made a big name for itself by mastering the art of helping struggling students meet the National Collegiate Athletic Association’s academic eligibility standards and reap millions of dollars in basketball scholarships.
“By its own count, Notre Dame has funneled no fewer than 47 players — nearly eight a year — to Division 1 basketball programs. And the school’s system seems nearly foolproof. Despite challenges posed by the likes of Iowa State star Will Blalock, who skipped 100 days in his junior year at East Boston High School, and Northeastern phenom Shawn James, an academic flop at a failing high school in Brooklyn, N.Y., Notre Dame officials said they have succeeded in grooming all but one of their last 30 or more basketball players to gain NCAA eligibility.
“But to what end?
“In an era when the NCAA has made improving the academic performance of student-athletes a top priority, particularly in the high-stakes hotbed of big-time college basketball, at least 18 of the 47 players (38.3 percent) who vaulted to the Division 1 stage from Notre Dame stumbled. They ran into problems ranging from losing academic eligibility to facing criminal charges for embezzlement, rioting, and rape. In many cases, they squandered lucrative scholarships, leaving them with little more than Notre Dame diplomas and frayed dreams of basketball glory. …”