PREP Athletics Basketball Podcast
PREP Athletics Basketball Podcast
Preparing Players for the Next Level ft. Jared Grasso of Knox School
In this insightful episode of the PREP Athletics Podcast, we sit down with Jared Grasso, head coach at the Knox School on Long Island. Coach Grasso shares his journey from Division I point guard to becoming one of the youngest head coaches at Bryant University, where he tripled their win total in his first year. Now at Knox School, he’s building what promises to be a national powerhouse program, already boasting a 31-5 record in just his first year.
We dive deep into Jared’s innovative recruiting strategies during his college coaching days, his philosophy on player development, and his vision for Knox School. As someone who coached at the Division I level for 21 years, Jared offers invaluable perspective on what it takes to succeed at higher levels and how prep school can be the perfect bridge for developing players.
📌 Key Points:
✅ Jared’s unconventional recruiting approach at Bryant University, where he offered scholarships to top players to get the program’s name out there and position themselves for potential transfers
✅ The comprehensive development program at Knox School, featuring three training sessions daily plus weightlifting
✅ Insights on the current state of college recruiting, including the impact of NIL, the transfer portal, and how prep schools fit into this evolving landscape
✅ Why the extra year of development at prep school is crucial for most players transitioning to college basketball
✅ What college coaches really look for in recruits, regardless of what level of prep school they attend
🗒️ About Jared Grasso:
Jared Grasso grew up on Long Island as the son of a coach, developing his love for basketball at an early age. He played Division I basketball as a point guard at Quinnipiac before embarking on a coaching career that included stops at Hofstra, Fordham, and Bryant University. At Bryant, he became known for his innovative recruiting strategies and ability to quickly turn programs around. Now at Knox School, New York’s oldest private boarding school, he’s building a basketball program focused on intense player development and college preparation.
🔗 Connect with Jared Grasso:
Email | jgrasso@knoxschool.org
Instagram | https://www.instagram.com/coach_grasso_11/#
X | https://x.com/JaredGrass11
Instagram | https://www.instagram.com/knox_school_basketball/
🔗 Connect with Cory:
Website | https://www.prepathletics.com
Twitter | https://twitter.com/PREP_Athletics
Instagram | https://www.instagram.com/prep.athletics/
Facebook | https://www.facebook.com/PrepAthletics
Email | coryheitz@gmail.com
Phone | 859-317-1166
🔖 Subscribe to the PREP Athletics Podcast:
iTunes | https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/prep-athletics-podcast/id1546265809?uo=4
Spotify | https://open.spotify.com/show/6CAKbXFiIOhoHinzsReYbJ
Amazon | https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/3c37179d-3371-47f9-9d97-fd569e8802a7/prep-athletics-basketball-podcast #AmazonMusic
Cory Heitz (00:01)
Welcome to this week's episode of the PREP Athletics Podcast. I'm proud to have on coach Jared Grasso, who is now the head coach at the Knox School on Long Island, oldest prep school in the state of New York. And Jared's former D1 point guard. coached at Hofstra, coached at Fordham, and then became one of the youngest head coaches at Bryant University. And actually, after his first year there, they tripled the number of wins from the previous year, which was a record at the time.
he's very unconventional in his old days of giving out tons of offers, right? Tons of offers the first day he could, which kind of put Brian in the map and he's an outside the box thinker when it comes to some aspects of coaching. And I know his first year there, I had two players in the team, both prep school kids and they did great for him. And, now he's at the Knox school and already I think he's 29 and five right now, beating some big time teams already. So that is going to be quickly.
become a national powerhouse and he really talks about all the time you can get in the gym at Knox School, how he gets you ready for college because he knows what colleges want and I'm just really glad he can come on and share a little bit about himself and about his way of doing things. If you like this be sure to subscribe to the podcast, be sure to sign up for the newsletter on prepathletics.com. We are more than happy to help anybody with any prep school questions you have and one of our things we do is educate you on all the ins and outs of the prep school world and by doing coaching interviews like this you learn more about
the prep school world, college recruiting, and this prep school coach specifically. So enjoy this podcast with coach Jared Grasso of the Knox School.
Cory Heitz (01:55)
Jared, welcome to the podcast.
Jared Grasso (01:57)
Appreciate you having me, Cory.
Cory Heitz (01:59)
Now you grew up in Long Island, you were very good basketball player, and then you ended up choosing going to Quinnipiac. First off, where did you get your love of basketball? And secondly, of all the colleges recruiting you, what led you to go to Quinnipiac?
Jared Grasso (02:13)
My father was a coach, so being the son of a coach, I grew up in the gym. My dad coached at the high school, college, and professional level. So I grew up around the game, was kind of all I knew. I tell people my dad gave me a basketball when I was three years old and I still haven't let go of it. So that's where the passion and love for the game came from. And I was lucky, I was blessed to be around really good coaches at a young age. My dad worked for Rick Pitino, who obviously is a Hall of Famer. Steve Clifford was an NBA coach. My dad worked with him at Adelphi.
was around really good coaches and really good basketball people. And that's kind of where my love for the game came from.
Cory Heitz (02:49)
Gotcha. And then Quinnipiac, what was the decision making on that? Because you're helping kids now, right, with their college choices. And I'm just so curious to find out, you know, when you chose, what was your deciding factors?
Jared Grasso (03:01)
Yep, Joe DeSantis started recruiting me really hard. And that's when, you know, letters were big and he would send me letters in the mail. I was getting letters every day. He was a New Yorker. My dad knew him. Great player, talent time, high school, second round NBA draft pick, who was a really good guard and wanted to play for someone who I knew I would develop under. Quinnipiac was going into the division, was going to be their first year, Division one was going to be my freshman year. So.
It was kind of an opportunity where I was going to a place where I was going be able to play at the Division I level, but also didn't have the opportunity to play major minutes right away, which was really important to me. You know, if I knew if I went somewhere and I was sitting, I wasn't going to be happy. So I the opportunity to go in and be the starting point guard from day one in a program that we were building from the ground up. But within four years, we were in a conference championship and I made the right decision and played for the right college coach.
Cory Heitz (03:52)
perfect. Now let me ask you this is off subject. Are letters still a thing these days?
Jared Grasso (03:56)
Not really. I I haven't received one letter for a player of mine this whole season, you know, with social media and text messaging and all that. I think the letter is now something that's ancient history.
Cory Heitz (04:08)
Okay, would it, but if I'm, if I'm a player and I get a handwritten letter from a head coach, would that carry more gravity? Since it would take more time to do that, or is it just gone? Is that just the way the pony express now?
Jared Grasso (04:19)
It's a good question. think it should. I think it should show that someone's putting time into you. If I was getting a letter, a weekly letter from a head coach, because it's so different now, I think it may be something that would have an effect on a kid. you know, kids are different now with their phones and social media and all that. So that's really what they're caught up in these days.
Cory Heitz (04:39)
Yeah, good point. Good point. Uh, so then you went from your career at Quinnipiac to be a coach at Hofstra, Fordham, and then Bryant. Um, let's talk about your days as an assistant coach. What was your recruiting strategy? I mean, you're coming right out of college and you're a grad assistant and you've got to start recruiting kids. Was it going to high school gyms? Was it AU tournaments? Was it making phone calls? Walk me through your strategy on how that started.
Jared Grasso (05:03)
It was kind of a combination of all of it. I had some good relationships. Being that my dad was a coach, I knew when I was done playing, I wanted to be a coach. I started building relationships at a young age. So I knew the AAU coaches in the metropolitan area. And so I recruited those AAU programs and those high school programs. The New York City Catholic League was one of the best leagues in the country. So I knew those head coaches through my father. So I was blessed to get a little bit of a head start because of some of the relationships I had, but
You know, I did all that stuff, the writing letters, the phone calls, the going to high school games and practices, the long drives and trips. mean, I remember recruiting prep schools, going up to Bridgestone Academy as a grad assistant to see Bridgestone against MCI. So I did a little bit of it all.
Cory Heitz (05:45)
What's the secret if you're an assistant coach that wants to be a good recruiter? Like what's the secret or is there a secret relationship?
Jared Grasso (05:50)
It's about relationships. I mean, I think it's
about relationships. And it's gotten a little different now with NIL and the amount of money being thrown around. But for a long time, it was a straight relationship business. you had to build relationships with the coaches. And then once you're involved with players, build a relationship with them, their families and their handlers and making people feel comfortable playing for you and then showing them the experiences what you told them, you know, that you've lived up to your ends of the bargain in terms of player development, in terms of
what they're going to get academically, what they're going to get out of the program, and that they're going to get their degree and have opportunity to be a professional player if that's their goal and that type of player. So I think it starts with the relationships and then it's the honesty and living up to what you said you'd do for that student athlete.
Cory Heitz (06:34)
All right. I'm going to pause here and take a detour. You just said get a degree. We're now in 2025 and we're talking about transfers, NILs, CHUCO rulings, academies, prep schools, all this stuff. Does the degree even come up anymore in conversations or where does that stand in today's market?
Jared Grasso (06:51)
I think it depends on the level. mean, think if you're talking about a Division III, Division II kid, obviously it's the most important thing because those aren't guys who are in the recruiting space of NIL money and being professionals. mean, and I'm sure they do want to play professional basketball, but for them, they're going to college to get their degree first. And then if they have an opportunity to play after that, it's the cherry on top of the cake, you know? But I think as you move up a level, I don't think it's a big part of the conversation, I think.
and I owe money and what can you do for me and what position can you put me in to play professionally? mean, think those are the big topics now where it used to be get your degree and then let's put you in a position to make money after college. Now the real, really, the starting point of the conversation is how much money can I make while I'm in college?
Cory Heitz (07:38)
Right. And then after your assistant turn, you became head coach of Bryant and you kind of had a unique way of giving out offers. Can you kind of share with the listeners out there who might not be familiar with it, kind of you're out of the box thinking on that.
Jared Grasso (07:51)
Yeah, I was trying to recruit the top players in the country and we offered a lot of guys and they would usually top, you know, 150, 200 players in the country and then the top junior college players in the country, top prep school players in the country and a lot of them were guys we probably couldn't get but A, was kind of for two reasons. One, Bryant had been in Division I school for eight years and not had any success at the Division I level when I took over so I wanted to get the Bryant name and brand out there.
So when you were going on Twitter, you'd see a kid had offers from Duke, North Carolina, Michigan State and Bryant. And a lot of people looked at that said, well, why is Bryant offering this kid? But they're seeing Bryant's name. So I think in terms of the marketing piece, I think it was a good thing just to get our name out there. And then the second piece was transfers. I came from my own college where at the time we were recruiting a lot of transfers. So if it was a kid that you recruited a little bit and you offered a scholarship to and they went to a higher level.
and it didn't work out, now you've already recruited him. He's already had a scholarship offer from you, so when he, there was no transfer portal at that point, but when he decided he was gonna make a move, sometimes you had, you know, you were ahead of the game in terms of getting him on the bounce back. So I thought I'd put us in position where we could recruit and get involved with better transfers than some guys because we had already been recruiting them beforehand.
Cory Heitz (09:12)
Yeah, love it. Love the bounce back. like walk me through this. Where did you come up with this idea? Was it in a court? Was it in a sports bar one night? Was it with your assistants in locker room? Like where did the seed germinate?
Jared Grasso (09:24)
It was one of my little brain trials that, you know, I was an outside the box thinker and always try and find a way to get ahead. And it was something that I started doing at Iona because we were taking a lot of transfers. And I said, well, you know, why don't we offer these kids scholarships now? You know, if you can get one of them great, you're probably not going to, but we made a couple of top five lists for kids that were down to UConn and St. John's and.
So you see us on their final five and then if it doesn't work out at that school, now on the bounce back, you're in their top five schools. And a lot of these kids, we were actively recruiting, knowing we're probably not gonna get them, but let's build a relationship knowing that if it doesn't work, we can get them on the rebound. And then when I got to Bryant, I kind of made it something that we're gonna hang our hat on doing.
Cory Heitz (10:10)
Did you have any other outside the box ideas you incorporated while at Bryant?
Jared Grasso (10:14)
I mean, we were way ahead of the curve on the NIL stuff. were paying guys through NIL way before anyone else at our level was. Our league didn't even understand the NIL stuff and we already had guys that were on our payroll, I'll call it. But we were way ahead with a lot of things NIL-wise in terms of at our level, we had the largest mid-major collective in the Northeast. And I just thought it was something that
Cory Heitz (10:17)
Hmm.
Jared Grasso (10:38)
I didn't know turn into what it did, but I just knew it was a way to get an advantage. So it was something that I put a lot of time into with our donors and with friends of mine in the city that had some money and wanted to be involved with the program. We able to get some players that we probably wouldn't have been able to get. And they've still been able to retain some players even now that they probably wouldn't have been able to without the collective that we put together.
Cory Heitz (11:01)
Yeah, awesome. And then while you're at Bryant, your first year, you tripled the wins the next year, right? Once again, what was your secret on that? Was that bringing in talent through the collective or what can you point that to?
Jared Grasso (11:07)
Yep.
Year one, that was just sweat equity. You we returned a group that won three games the year prior, brought in a couple pieces that were good pieces that kind of helped change the culture a little bit and were a talent upgrade. But we just changed the whole culture of what we were doing. And it was a culture of work. You know, we lived in the gym, doing individuals. Our conditioning program was different. The way we practiced was different. We were practicing for three hours a day.
So just the work ethic was something a lot of those kids weren't accustomed to and it wasn't what they came to Bryan for. I told guys all the time, I'm gonna give you everything I can to make you successful, but I also know I wasn't the guy that recruited you. So it's a little bit different. I do things in a different way and I just think you have to work at a certain level to be successful. So we're able to kind of turn the corner and we're early on, we're button heads a little bit with some of those guys, because the work we were putting in was a little bit of a different level.
Cory Heitz (11:45)
Hmm.
Jared Grasso (12:06)
We got them to buy in and were able to have some success.
Cory Heitz (12:09)
Yeah, no, was great to your time there. Now, you are now at the Knox school on Long Island, prep school, feet from the beach and a beautiful location you got there. Tell us about the Knox school. Give us your pitch on the program and in the school itself.
Jared Grasso (12:24)
You have a beautiful campus. It's New York's oldest private boarding school. you know, it's a situation where you can get a great academic, a great academic situation in addition to, I think, a really good basketball situation. You know, we put a ton of time into player development and we're getting our guys exposure at the highest level, playing six national tournaments. So I think it's a place where, A, you can get a really good education and move on and, you know, play at a
go to a high level academic school and be basketball wise. know, we're in year one with 31 and five right now with championship game coming up this week and then we'll go play it some in some portion of the prep school national championship. So what we've done in one year of this is a first year program. You know, I think we have the building blocks are doing something pretty special here.
Cory Heitz (13:15)
Yeah, and what's your goal? Like, what do want to turn Nox into?
Jared Grasso (13:19)
You know, I'd love to become a national power place that at first is giving kids exposure so they have the opportunity to be placed at the highest level of academic schools and also basketball programs. You know, guys who are lower level player to be able to get scholarships. You know, a kid with no scholarship offers can come here and leave with offers. We've had six kids who've come into school that had no scholarship offers coming in that have scholarship offers now. So put kids in position to get a free education and hopefully be on be a team that
people talk about nationally and can compete with the national programs up in new england and throughout the country
Cory Heitz (13:54)
Yeah. And what's your guess classification as far as prep schools go.
Jared Grasso (13:58)
we're playing in the empire a conference we're not in the way we're not in the next act right now something we talked about possibly trying to do so we're independent you know prep school right now planning the end and empire eight conference schedule and then playing national games the national turn
Cory Heitz (14:15)
All right. Question family is always asking me Jared and you're familiar with this as well. Being up there is, know, Netsack AAA, Netsack AA, Singlet, Independent, IMG, Wasatch, Montverde, all these different schools that have different levels of, you know, talent or, know, coaching or schedule. You, I want you to put on your former college, college assistant hat and head coaching hat. If you like a player.
Does it matter if they're at a AAA, AA, single A, independent school, public, private, prep? Walk me through that.
Jared Grasso (14:46)
No, I mean, if you're a good player and a good fit academically, I don't think it matters what level you're at or what school you're at for that matter. People are going to find you. Not a lot of kids get missed based on poor evaluations. I don't think kids get missed by where they are. You know, if you can play, someone's going to find you, especially with the AAU circuit and guys being seen on the circuit, there's, you know, multiple places where guys can get seen. So I think it's about finding the right fit for the student athlete, both academically and basketball wise.
And I'm so huge on player development. think you have to find a place where you're to develop because you don't want to be the same player in August when you arrive right on campus that you are when you leave the next, you know, April or May. You know, the player development piece, I think is huge, but I don't think it matters where you end up. think it's, you want to be someplace you can play and are going to be put on the floor. think that's number one, having the opportunity to earn playing time and to get the exposure you need.
Cory Heitz (15:36)
Hmm.
Jared Grasso (15:42)
and then B, in a place where you're fit for the style of play, fit for the school, and somewhere where you're comfortable because if a kid's not comfortable there, they're not going have a good experience. So think the comfort level is very important as well.
Cory Heitz (15:54)
Yeah, so if I'm understanding this correctly, when you're at the college level, if you liked a kid, didn't matter if it was AAA or single A.
Jared Grasso (16:00)
No, it didn't matter to me what level the kid was playing at. As long as he was a talented player that I thought was talented enough to play for us and fit our level and fit our style, it didn't matter to me what AA, AAA, single A didn't matter to me.
Cory Heitz (16:13)
Did you give more weight to a kid that went to a prep school versus coming out of a high school or just private school?
Jared Grasso (16:20)
With without a question, I wasn't I was very rarely recruiting a straight high school kid. And I took a lot of transfers too, but I like that extra prep year. I think it's big for players development. I think it's big for them playing against other older guys and playing, you know, New England prep schools or even, you know, us for that matter. You're playing against really good players. I mean, we've played Vermont Academy, South Kent, Bridgerton, OSL, Bridgeport Prep. You you're playing against other really good teams and other.
Division one players so you have a chance to A get exposure against and B compete against higher level guys that I don't think you're getting at the high school level. I think that extra year maturity is really important, especially now where guys are so old because of the transfer portal and the COVID year and now then possibly given the extra year if you go to junior college, you know, there's so many reasons that guys are older that I think that extra year is really important.
Cory Heitz (17:14)
Yeah. Amen. I agree with that a hundred percent. Let's go back what you said about development. So one question families ask over over again, when they're looking at multiple schools is what kind of development am I getting at this school or what development does this coach do? And walk me through your development. Like, are you doing it personally? Is an assistant coach doing it? What's that look like when you show up in August all the way till you leave the following May? Walk me through your development pitch at Knox.
Jared Grasso (17:39)
Yep, so we're going to have three sessions a day. We're going to have an early bird session where guys can come in for skill work, which I don't make mandatory, but kind of becomes mandatory for the guys who want to be good players because you get an hour skill working before breakfast and before classes start. And I do that with my assistant coach. I have a player development coach who lives on campus, who's a dorm parent. So it helps having him around. He's here for early morning workouts and for evening workouts.
We'll practice usually at one o'clock every day. We have a one to about three, three thirty slots. We'll get about two and a half hours into practice. Then we'll usually have a weightlifting session after practice three to four days a week. Then our guys will go back to the dorm, you know, be able to relax, shower, take a little bit of time, go to dinner, do their study hall hours. And then at night we'll have another skill session for guys who want to get extra work in. So from about
9 to 10 o'clock guys can get back in the gym, get on the gun, get a skill session with our player development guy. So we have three sessions a day plus weightlifting. So to me, it's just going to expedite your curve when you're in the gym. I the opportunity to be in the gym that much. for guys who want to, I think it's big during that year to be able to expedite your curve. I don't think one practice a day is enough. And some programs are having their one practice a day and
and out of season guys are playing multiple sports. You we don't have our guys doing that here. We have our guys training year round, which again, I understand why places have guys playing multiple sports for us. It's just a year round basketball thing. And again, we're trying to get as much give our guys as much as we can. And those, you know, seven, eight, nine months we have them to help them take their game to the next level and be prepared. A.
in terms of their development when they get to college and B, just what it's going to take when they get there because that's what your day is going to look like when you're in college. You're up at 6 a.m. for weightlifting, you have an individual workout, you're having practice, you're having weightlifting sessions, you're having study hall, so it's similar to a college day what we're doing here at Knox.
Cory Heitz (19:27)
Right.
Yeah, I love it. Now here's the question that comes up pretty common with my younger clients, sophomores and juniors, right? And a lot of families that don't know about reclassifying are constantly asking, should I reclassify when I go to a prep school or just stay on the track I'm on and then do a post-grad year? Do you have an opinion on that or do you do it a certain way at Knox?
Jared Grasso (19:57)
We can go either way with it at Knox. I don't think it matters. mean, either way, we have a varsity program here as well. So we have a varsity program and a post-grad program, or we call it our national prep program. So we have some non-post-grad players playing on our national prep team. But we also have a varsity team. So for me, if you're coming to Knox and you reclass or stay in your class, if you want to do a fifth year, you play for my national team.
So for us, it doesn't really matter which direction you go with it. I don't think it matters either way. you're going to do a fifth year, you're going to do a fifth year. So I don't think the reclassifying piece matters. As much as it did years ago when there were different rules, I think it mattered a little bit more where the rules were different, you know, eight, ten years ago. But now the rules being what they are, don't think the reclassifying piece matters. I think if you need it academically, you can do it.
Cory Heitz (20:35)
Thank
Jared Grasso (20:51)
I think some kids do it for the AAU piece so they can play that year down, which to me, I don't think makes a lot of sense. I think you want to play against your class or older guys for improvement reasons, but some guys do have AAU coaches that want their guy to stay with a certain group, so they will have them reclassified for that reason. But for the high school and postgraduate reason, I don't think it matters either way. I think you can go either direction.
Cory Heitz (21:14)
Yeah, as long as you get five years in, doesn't really matter. Okay. Gotcha. if I'm doing a post-grad, you're at Knox. What are my academic requirements or options?
Jared Grasso (21:16)
Exactly.
We have high school level courses as well as college level courses. We have three colleges in the area that we work with that have college level courses we offer. So it depends on a kid's track and what they need. If someone needs a core class for their academic eligibility, we'll make sure they're taking that core. But they're taking five or six classes. We have block scheduling where guys will be in class from eight to noon every day and then have lunch. So they're blocked scheduled to have different classes on Monday and Tuesday.
Again, you have the opportunity to take college level classes as well as high school level stuff depending on what your needs are and what your wants are for it. Some kids want a lighter schedule because they're just here for basketball purposes. Some kids are trying to take college level classes because they're trying to get ahead academically. So we've had kids kind of go in both directions.
Cory Heitz (22:09)
Gotcha. Okay. that varsity team you're mentioning, is that considered your second team or is it just like a varsity JV type situation?
Jared Grasso (22:16)
It's a varsity team. play in the PSA, which is the private school league here on Long Island. So it's not a second team really as where it's a varsity team will have, you nine through 12 play varsity unless it's a kid who I'm going to put on my national team, which I have a couple of kids up with me this year. So when I recruit, I'm recruiting for my national team and I have a varsity coach kind of doing who's kind of a separate entity.
Cory Heitz (22:41)
How many people you want ideally on your national team?
Jared Grasso (22:44)
13 to 15, you know, with injuries and with different things that happen during the year. Sometimes kids don't last for certain reasons. You know, I want to at least be at 13, guys.
Cory Heitz (22:54)
And what are you looking for in a player, Jared?
Jared Grasso (22:56)
No, I want a kid who's hungry and wants to get better. That to me, that's the most important thing, because player development is number one for me here. I want to get these guys better. I want them to go from, you know, if you have division through recruitment to get you to the scholarship level. If you're a scholarship player, get to the highest level we possibly can. So for me, it's kids who love to play kids who are hungry and tough and competitive. And but the biggest piece is the love for the game.
You know, I want skilled players who can pass, handle and shoot just because our style. We play fast offensively, we're averaging over 100 points a game this year. So I want guys who can play a certain fit, guys who can make threes, but guys who love it and really have a passion for it is the most important thing for me. And I have something to prove with a little bit of chip on their shoulder that their recruitment's not at a certain level and they want to play at a higher level.
Cory Heitz (23:47)
Yeah, love it. And now you find your players now. know obviously when you came in last year, you didn't have much time, but you still built a pretty good team. Now that you're figuring out the prep school landscape, how are you going to build your team for next year? Like what's your, what's your process on that?
Jared Grasso (24:00)
You know,
going through relationships I have, you know, having coached the college level for 21 years, knowing a lot of guys at the grassroots level, knowing some college guys who are looking to play as kids, working with guys like you who have their hands on so many good players and so many guys who are good fit for prep school like ourselves. So it's kind of three prongs, you know, through the high school and AU relationships I have through my college relationships and working with someone like yourself who again has done this for a long time and
knows kind of the guy who could be a good fit for me. getting calls from guys like yourself on players that you think could be a good fit for us.
Cory Heitz (24:36)
Perfect. Now talk to me about your placement strategy. Obviously with the Juco ruling potentially, the transfer portal, NIO, all of this, it's a mess out there. And I tell families over and over again, you need an advocate in the prep school world and you're an advocate for your players, right? But what's your strategy? Is it getting guys in the gym in the fall? Is it picking up the phone? Walk me through that.
Jared Grasso (24:56)
It's a combination of all of it, trying to get as many guys in the gym and fall as possible to get an early look at our guys. For me, getting on once I've seen our guys and have a real feel for them and level getting on the phone with coaches and telling them about the guys we have and some guys who could be a good fit. Again, I just have a lot of relationships, haven't done it a long time. And, you know, especially once I get a feel for it's easier when you coach a guy to see to say where they can play like people division one guys will ask me, could they have played for you at Bryant? And this certain guys that I've said,
Having coached him, say yes because I see what his work ethic is and I see how much better he's gotten from September till here in February. And I see what his ceiling can be. So, you know, being around the guys on a daily basis and knowing their work ethic and their toughness and their competitiveness gives me a feel for what kind of level they can play at. So I think number two is getting on the phone. And number three is getting exposure through tournaments. You know, we've played in, you know, five tournaments up in New England. We're playing one more this year. We played in two tournaments in New York. So,
getting our guys out there and getting them the exposure where they're going to be college coaches so they have a chance to play in front of guys and get seen.
Cory Heitz (26:01)
And next summer we will be playing the live Scholastic Weekends.
Jared Grasso (26:04)
We will. played in one this past summer up in Jersey and we'll do the same thing. We'll play in Philly and we'll play in Jersey again.
Cory Heitz (26:11)
What do you see as the future of prep school basketball?
Jared Grasso (26:14)
I mean, it's a good question. think kids need an extra year. I think it's hard coming out of high school unless you're one of those elite guys to play at the level you want to play at. I think that extra year playing against really good players, being coached by, you know, again, someone, and there's a million good prep school coaches out there, but I can advocate for myself as someone who did it at the Division I level for 21 years. I just know what it takes. I tell our guys that a lot. I've seen it with my own eyes. I know what it takes to play at that level. I can prepare you with the work it's going to take.
You guys aren't going to be behind the eight ball in terms of how hard you need to work. You know, here we are, we're, played 36 games. We're to play at least four more. So you're talking about a 40 game schedule as opposed to a 20 game high school schedule. So you're playing 40 games against other really good players. So I think that year just expedites your curve a lot. So I think it's something that guys have used and will continue to use because I just don't think a lot of people are recruiting kids straight from high school unless they're those elite players.
Cory Heitz (27:14)
Yeah. And you guys play college rules. What's the benefit of playing college rules versus playing high school rules? Is it just an easier, more seamless transition for the kids?
Jared Grasso (27:16)
We do play college rules.
I think
the 40 minute game is an adjustment. For guys who are playing a lot of minutes, the 40 minute game is an adjustment. think shooting from the three point ball from the college line is a big adjustment. That's one of the things we'd have freshmen come in from high school who were good shooters in high school and would struggle early with the college line just because of their range. So think playing with the college line is important. And I think being officiated by, we have really good officials. We have college guys doing our games.
being officiated by college officials who just came from doing an NEC or a Mac game and are coming to do one of our games. think the level of physicality and kind of being prepared for what being officiated in a college game is, I think guys get that as well.
Cory Heitz (28:05)
Love it. This is a question asked every prep school coach, Jared, and you're very well qualified to answer this, but what does it take to be a D1 guard?
Jared Grasso (28:13)
I mean, you need to be really skilled. know, obviously the size and physicality piece, I think matters even more so now because guys are just older at that level. So I do think the physicality piece is something and, you know, I think I have some kids who are skilled enough to be Division I guards, but maybe a year or two away, it could end up being guys who go Division II and end up in the portal in a year or two transferring up just because the physicality level is something that's different. And it's why guys are taking so many transfers because they want guys who are ready-made physically.
But I think the skill set, think the basketball IQ is something that can really jump you ahead if you know how to play. There's not a ton of guys out there who know how to play the basketball the right way. In terms of sharing the ball, throwing the ball ahead, getting the lane, make plays for others. I think those are things that are really important and the ability to shoot the ball is kind of the thing that separates you. Guys who can make shots can play at any level. Elite shooters to me can play at the highest level because at worst you're a specialist.
there aren't a ton of elite shooters out there, so I think the ability to make shots is a skill that is a real separator.
Cory Heitz (29:18)
Got it. Let's put your hat back on your head coaching hat now. And let's assume that the NCA moves forward with the 15 scholarship option, right? How do you build a team? Like how many of players are transfers? How many are Jukos? How many are prep school slash high school development kids? How many are foreigners? Like walk me through the ratio that you would put together.
Jared Grasso (29:38)
I don't know what my ratio would be. do know that there would be back end guys of the 15. I shouldn't say back end, but guys that I think are not developmental guys or guys who might not be physically ready yet or there's one skill that they're missing that they might need to improve on. Then now I'm taking a 515 because I have a chance to develop them a little bit more. I think that 15 scholarship
limit is going to really add to the prep school recruiting because I think I guys will be more apt to take a kid that is close but night might not be right there yet in terms of being able to be an impact guy from day one. They can take him and maybe he'll end up being better than they think and he will be able to help from day one or yet do you have time for some development which is the way it used to be in the past where guys were red shirting and getting that extra year to get ready. Now you can take a kid and his development doesn't have to be as quick.
and you could have them in the gym and kind of have some more time to develop them and have have the little bit of a window where it's not okay this guy's got to be ready to be a starter in my top seven immediately where you can have a guy you can say all right by year two I need him to be an impact guy or by year three so you have a little bit more time to get them where you need them to be.
Cory Heitz (30:53)
Right now you do take a player as a freshman, they start doing really good first team, all conference freshman of the year. And you got to worry about him now leaving and going to a higher level program to get more money. And I know you had to deal with that probably a little bit of Bryant. Like what would you do internally to try to keep those kids around? Or would you say, Hey, this is the market you've earned it. I can't hold you back. Like, what was your strategy on
Jared Grasso (31:18)
If it's kid who's going to make significantly more money and has an opportunity to transfer up to a Power Five school, I wouldn't stop them from doing it. I would tell them to do it. know, some of this is life-changing money for kids. You know, they have a chance to start their lives with real money in their pockets. So I don't think you can hold them back. I mean, I think you do the best job with them you can in terms of your relationship, player development, and hopefully you have enough money in your collective to try and keep them around as long as possible.
But at some point where it's a kid that if he's that good and has an opportunity to transfer up to that high level and make that kind of money, I don't think you can hold him back from doing it.
Cory Heitz (31:54)
doesn't that frustrate you if you're the one that developed them and spent the time and the sweat equity getting them to that level? Or is that just
Jared Grasso (32:00)
It does,
but it's part of the deal right now. You know it's part of the deal and you kind of have to understand that sometimes you're taking a kid knowing if you get a really good freshman knowing I might only keep this kid for a year or two but let me get everything I can out of them. I'm going to develop them because I want them to help me as much as I can and I've promised this kid in his recruitment that I'm going to develop them and I'm going live up to my end of the bargain.
Cory Heitz (32:23)
Gotcha. Would you now as a head coach in the college ranks, would you look at D2 or D3 players that were really good?
Jared Grasso (32:29)
Absolutely. think again, those kids are just a year older and sometimes people make mistakes. You know, they pass on a kid for whatever reason, that kid who might not have been physically ready or the kid who might have been a little bit too small. And then they're just better than you thought they were going to be. And they're good enough to transfer up. But you're starting to see that all the time now. Teams building around, you know, Drake has four starters who came with, with Ben McCollum from division two level and they're, you know, 21 and four, I think right now. So.
Cory Heitz (32:35)
Mm-hmm.
Jared Grasso (32:57)
I think if you can get guys who play basketball the right way and go to the right school, develop and are better players by the time year two or year three rolls around, those are definitely kids that you have to take a look at.
Cory Heitz (33:09)
Yeah. Interesting times. You ready to do some quick hitters? Well, first of all, real quick question. This will be a quick hitter. Who's the biggest player you ever missed on? Like an email came in or a coach called you about him and just didn't float your boat at the time, but then they blew up later and you said, ah, I missed that guy.
Jared Grasso (33:13)
Absolutely.
Biggest player.
Prize to Kai Ziegler, was probably the best point guard in the country right now. He was playing for Jimmy Sammons, didn't have any divisional and scholarship offers. I was going back and forth between him and a transfer. I waited too long. He ended up not kind of disgruntled because we didn't go on him right away. He ended up waiting it out, ends up at Tennessee and is now, you know, first team probably all American and probably the best point guard in the country right now. And we had him, he had no scholarship offers at the time and I waited too long.
Cory Heitz (33:57)
Interesting. And what do you do? Will you just say, I'll get the next one? What's your, what's your mental makeup and something like that happened?
Jared Grasso (34:01)
Yeah, you're
going to miss on some. You can't get them all right. To me, it's more about you can't get lot wrong. If you get a lot wrong, you bury yourself, and it's hard to get yourself out of. If you miss on someone, you kick yourself for it, but you try and go get the next good one and hope you can make up for it.
Cory Heitz (34:09)
Mm-hmm.
Yeah, all right. Best player you ever played against during your playing career.
Jared Grasso (34:21)
I played against some good ones, but my freshman year, my first game in college, I was at Quinnipiac, was our first year Division one. And my first matchup was against Khalid El Amin. And I remember Gardner, whose son I'm actually recruiting right now to come to Knox, which is pretty funny. But I remember Gardner in the first play of the game. I'm 165 pounds soaking wet. I don't realize how strong and good he is. Takes a couple of dribbles. I'm on his hip. He puts his hip into me. I'm on the basket support on the ground. He's shooting a layup and one. So.
Cory Heitz (34:34)
No.
Jared Grasso (34:49)
He was probably the toughest matchup I remember playing against in college just because how physical well he was and how hard he was to guard.
Cory Heitz (34:56)
Cool. How about coaching at any of your places? The best player you've ever coached against?
Jared Grasso (35:02)
I'd go with Joel Embiid, who's a freshman at Kansas, and that's when they had the Wiggins kid who was their highest profile guy, but Joel Embiid was just so skilled. He was a freshman. He made a couple spin moves and up and unders. I was like, you don't see that from a kid that size. He was terrific.
Cory Heitz (35:19)
Gotcha, what's your favorite movie?
Jared Grasso (35:20)
Probably Hoosiers. I grew up loving Hoosiers. It's a movie I've probably watched about 200 times. That's one you could never get tired of.
Cory Heitz (35:27)
Have you been to the gym where they filmed it? Okay. Nightstown, Indiana, about 20 miles east of Indianapolis. And it's open all the time. And there's it's, it's, it's in a little suburb. So it's not like it looks in the movie, but you can play games there actually. So I'm thinking Knox school versus, know, some, but La Lumiere there next year. think about that. We'll talk. We'll, we'll talk outside the box on that.
Jared Grasso (35:29)
I have not.
Brilliant.
I like it. I like where your head's at. That would be unbelievable. I'm gonna look into doing that one. You got my
wheels spinning now.
Cory Heitz (35:54)
Yeah, all right. And then what's your hobbies when you're not on the basketball court?
Jared Grasso (35:59)
Spending time with my family. I was at the college level for so long and lost so much time with my children and my family that for me, when I'm not here, I'm with my family making up for that lost time and helping my children, working them out, playing ball with them and trying to develop them and just spending time with my kids and my daughter. I'm really enjoying the difference between being in college and all that time you spend away from them now making up for that lost time.
Cory Heitz (36:24)
Yeah, that's so great. You can do that now. Well, look, we've tried a lot about you, about Knox. Is there anything you want to mention, before we get off the podcast?
Jared Grasso (36:33)
Yeah, just we have a great situation here. I know it's again year one, 31 and five, you know, been able to really develop some guys and I think what we're building here is pretty special and I think we're doing it the right way with the right type of people and hopefully for those looking for a postgraduate situation or a prep situation, you know, hopefully we could be a great fit.
Cory Heitz (36:51)
Absolutely. Well, coach Jared Grasso at the Knox School. Thanks so much for joining us in the PREP Athletics podcast. Yeah. If you guys like this, be sure to subscribe so you can get every episode and go to prepathletics.com. Sign up for the newsletter so you don't miss out on anything. We got a lot of signings coming up, a lot of good information and newsletters, especially in this changing markets. I want to make sure you guys are informed. So thanks so much for tuning in. We'll see you all next time. Take
Jared Grasso (36:56)
Thanks for having me, Cory.