Entering his fourth season, head boys basketball coach Juan Rickman is one of the most respected coaches at East English Village Preparatory Academy. Rickman double majored in psychology and sociology and graduated from the University of Michigan-Dearborn in 2006.
Rickman, who previously was head coach of Crockett Technical High School for six years, led EEVPA to its first district championship against Detroit Southeastern in March 2015. And this year, EEVPA won the PSL title.
Thanks to his guidance, many of Rickman’s players have received scholarships from Division I universities across the nation.
Rickman’s main goal is to help all players become better students first, then better basketball players.
“Coach Rickman was great to me for the two years I played with him,” said Mar’Qywell Jackson, a former EEVPA basketball player and current power forward at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh.
Jackson said Rickman “talked to me about more than just being a basketball player. He also talked to me about … being a good student and becoming a better person.”
