Minnesota Prep Academy 2026-27 Player Profiles

Minnesota Prep Academy TRIP School (Minnesota Prep) is a private, multicultural national preparatory school based in Minneapolis, MN, built to close opportunity gaps for young men and women of color in underserved communities through a combined focus on education, athletics, trades and the arts. The program grew out of Future Academic Ballers (FAB), an AAU pilot program Lucas Patterson started in 2010 with 11 participants that has since grown to more than 200. Minnesota Prep runs separate High School and Post Grad basketball programs and competes nationally as part of the Grind Session. The school has sent a steady list of players on to college basketball, including DI signees Lu'Cye Patterson (UNC Charlotte), Brenden Moss (Kent State), Arop Arop (Columbia), and Antonio Chol (Rutgers), among others, along with dozens more to junior colleges and NAIA programs.

The Minnesota Prep head coach is Lucas Patterson, a North Minneapolis native who starred at Robbinsdale Cooper High School before playing collegiately at Augsburg University. He later worked as an assistant coach at Brooklyn Center High School before founding FAB and, eventually, Minnesota Prep. Basketball runs in his family: his grandfather played for the Minneapolis Lakers, and his father played at the University of Minnesota. Patterson has built the program's identity around mentorship and life-skills development alongside on-court training, and his own son Lu'Cye went on to play at Missouri State, Charlotte, and Minnesota.

Syah Blackshire (2027) 6'1 guard - From Eden Prairie High, MN - Plays club ball with Team Unity.

Desmond "DJ" Goines Jr. (2027) 6'0 guard - From Minneapolis, MN  Video highlights 

Rylan McPipe (2027) 6'2 guard - From Minneapolis, MN, McPipe is a combo guard that shoots the cover off the ball, with range well beyond the 3 point line. He plays with good change of speed and sees the floor well. He will shred aggressive ball pressure. His ability to beat his man consistently, compromises the defense into drawing help, which gets his teammates open. Plays club ball with Hoop Habits Elite. Projected as Mid Major talent.  3.4 gpa  PH profile

Kalief Armstrong (2028) 6'6 wing - From Gloucester Catholic High, NJ, Armstrong is likely to be Prep's leading scorer this season. Coach Patterson describes his game as "Jamal Crawford mixed with Shawn Livingston".  Video highlights

Emmanuel Decembre (2028) 6'9 forward - From North Miami Beach, FL (four inch growth spurt since last year?) 

Gideon Horne (2028) 6'5 small forward - From Richfield High, Minneapolis, MN, Horne brings high-energy and athleticism to the floor. He sparks team's momentum with highlight-reel plays on both ends. He is an obvious slam dunk contestant. Defensively, he is a force as a help defender, poking balls away from driving guards and soaring at the rim for emphatic block shots. Offensively, he uses a crafty handle to comfortably get to his spots while keeping teammates involved through crisp backdoor passes and timely transition feeds. Plays club ball with Howard Pulley. PH profile

Malik Martin (2029) 6'8 forward - From Minneapolis Camden High, MN, # 1 ranked player in Minnesota by Prep Hoops. Martin's combination of size, length, and athleticism give him impactful physical tools. He is able to face-up on the perimeter, put the ball on the floor as a driver and dunk in two steps. As a perimeter force one-on-one Martin is a tough player for other forwards to guard, and when you put smaller defenders on him he can generally get into the post and score over them. Martin is improving as a jump shooter. His length and size enable him to be a threat as a shot blocker and his lateral agility makes him a threat to grab and go in transition. Plays club ball with Kevon Looney Power 5.  PH profile

Jayden Ortiz-Muhammad (2028) 6'2 point guard - From West Catholic High, Philadelphia, PA, Ortiz-Muhammad is true floor general and an up and coming prospect. Ortiz-Muhammad does a nice job breaking the game down in the half-court and uses his dribble to get to different spots on the attack. He uses ball screens which free him up to create space for himself to get off shots. He also creates separation for himself to get shots off from three. PH profile

Malcolm Patterson (2030) 6'11 forward - From Minneapolis, MN, Coach Patterson projects that the Patterson brothers will be develop into being a couple of the best bigs to ever come out of Minnesota.Plays club ball with Minnesota Heat.

Miles Patterson (2030) 6'11 forward - From Minneapolis, MN, in addition to great length, Miles Patterson has the ability to stretch the floor and invert team defense schemes. Plays club ball with Minnesota Heat.