Kendrick Perkins carved out a successful NBA career spanning 14 seasons across four teams. He won an NBA championship with the Boston Celtics in 2008 and was part of Cleveland’s final playoff run in 2018. After retiring from professional basketball, Perkins transitioned into a broadcasting career and now works as an analyst for ESPN.
Perkins is known for his bold opinions and doesn’t hesitate to criticize players, including some of his former teammates like LeBron James and Kevin Durant.
### Perkins Talks About the Benefits of Prep School Over Public School
In a recent appearance on the “Out The Mud Podcast” (Saturday), Perkins discussed the advantages of attending prep school compared to traditional public education, especially for aspiring basketball players. At timestamp 1:24:24, he said:
> “If you’re talking about taking basketball serious, to the next level, then public school, traditional public school, is not the way to go. If you talking about taking this basketball sh*t serious… Because you’re wasting time throughout the day. Don’t come giving me this sh*t about, you need it for social skills and all this bullsh*t. Man, it’s enough shit to be doing in the outside world. You’ll be alright. Right?”
He also reflected on his own experience in a public school in Texas:
> “I spent damn near all of my ninth grade year taking Texas history because it was a requirement. I don’t give a f*ck about no damn Alamodome.”
Perkins emphasized that for serious basketball players, spending time on unrelated academic requirements—like history—can be a distraction. Instead, he suggested that the time could be better spent on training or learning practical skills such as financial literacy.
### Why Prep Schools Can Be Beneficial: The Example of Cooper Flagg
It has become increasingly common for basketball prospects to attend prep schools to better prepare themselves for college and professional careers. A recent example is Cooper Flagg, the projected No. 1 pick in the 2025 NBA Draft, who completed high school at Montverde Academy, a renowned prep school.
Perkins highlighted the benefits of prep school by referencing Flagg’s college readiness during his freshman season at Duke University (timestamp 1:26:25):
> “I have been watching players who come out of prep school—like this year, Derik Queen, Cooper Flagg. Cooper Flagg could have stayed in New Hampshire, or where you from in Maine, and gone to his local high school. Still probably would have gone to Duke, but would he have been that ready for Duke his freshman year to dominate like he did? No. They train different. They watch film, bro.”
While Perkins’ points on the advantages of prep schools hold merit, it is important to recognize that attending such schools is not always feasible due to high tuition and other barriers.
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For more basketball insights and updates, check out the latest Boston Celtics schedule and explore the Celtics depth chart for the 2024-25 NBA season.
*Edited by Rajdeep Barman*
https://www.sportskeeda.com/basketball/news-kendrick-perkins-says-public-school-classes-are-holding-back-next-generation-hoopers-you-re-wasting-time
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