Nation Wide Academy, the prep school that produced DeAndre Williams, plans Memphis branch

Jason Munz, Memphis Commercial Appeal

July 31, 2022 at 10:00 PM·3 min read

Nation Wide Academy basketball coach Kenneth Roy hugs Memphis star DeAndre Williams during a game at Houston on Feb. 12, 2022. Williams played for Roy at Nation Wide Academy before signing with Evansville.

Nation Wide Academy, the Oklahoma City post-graduate prep school that helped produce Memphis basketball star DeAndre Williams, is expanding into Bluff City.

Kenneth Roy, who co-founded Nation Wide Academy in 2017, told The Commercial Appeal this week he will open a branch in Memphis. Roy said he initially planned to have the operation up and running by September. But, since he is still in the facility-scouting process, Roy said he’s targeting a January 2023 start.

Roy has spent considerable time in Memphis since Williams joined the Tigers ahead of the 2020-21 season. That’s when the seed was planted, he said, adding discussions began in earnest in the summer of 2021.

“I just happened to see the huge possibilities here in Memphis,” said Roy. “The enormous, enormous amount of talent that’s in this city and in this state, it’s really incredible.”

Nation Wide Academy would join the ranks of prep schools in Memphis that already includes Memphis Day Academy and Tennessee Prep. Roy said there are a handful of prospects who have expressed interest in playing for him in Memphis, adding he expects that number to grow significantly in the coming months. As a postgraduate prep school, the team would primarily play a schedule made up of other prep schools and junior colleges.

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Nation Wide Academy co-founder Kenneth Roy, right (pictured alongside Memphis senior and Nation Wide Academy alum DeAndre Williams), plans to add a Memphis branch of the prep academy in the coming months.

Since 2017, Roy also has handled head coaching duties for Nation Wide Academy in Oklahoma City. When the Memphis venture gets off the ground, he said he will serve as head coach here for the first season before transitioning into a full-time administrative position within the organization.

Once the Memphis branch gets off the ground, Roy said the next benchmark would be the addition of an undergraduate team.

“We feel like we’re going to end up being pretty big here,” Roy said. “We’ve gotten some really good feedback from some prominent people (around Memphis) saying, ‘Hey, do it. Do it.’ ”

One of those people, Roy said, was Eric “Cowboy” Robinson. Robinson, now coach at Hamilton High, has experience in the prep school space. In 2018, he launched Mid South Prep Academy.

“I’ve been knowing him a long time, going back to our AAU days,” Roy said. “He thought this would be a great idea. He knows what I bring to the table, how I care about these kids and how I’m gonna teach. They’re gonna learn. I give structure, responsibility, accountability and another avenue to help these student athletes succeed.

“That’s what I’m all about.”

Roy’s next order of business is finding a facility Nation Wide Academy Memphis can call home. Once that’s done, and the ribbon is ready to be cut, he plans to honor his star pupil.

“DeAndre’s gonna cut the ribbon when we physically open up the facility,” Roy said. “He’s really the pioneer of Nation Wide, as far as the first major player to come out of the program. We’ve had some Division I guys, but DeAndre is that guy. He’s that pioneer. So, it’s only fitting to have him cut the ribbon.”

Reach sports writer Jason Munz at jason.munz@commercialappeal.com or on Twitter @munzly.

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For those interested in more information about Nation Wide Academy Memphis, email Kenneth Roy at coachroysd@yahoo.com or call 405-320-3001.

This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Nation Wide Academy planning to open prep school branch in Memphis

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