COLUMBIA, Mo. — Missouri asked Annor Boateng to play the saxophone.
With the four-star high school basketball prospect visiting the campus in Columbia, the Tigers’ coaches wanted to hear a little something different from 247sports’ No. 25 player in the 2024 recruiting cycle: his musical skills.
“They made me play the saxophone, which no other school has ever showed interest (in),†Boateng said. “They knew I played an instrument, but they never just showed interest like that, which really set them apart.â€
No kidding. Standing out in saxophone interest worked for Mizzou, which will see Boateng move in early in June and don a black and gold uniform next fall.
Asking about saxophone ability wasn’t some recruiting trail gimmick, either. Coach Dennis Gates wants Boateng to play the national anthem on saxophone before a game.
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“It showed, like, ‘Hey, we’re here for you. We really are invested in who you are,’ †Boateng said.
The incoming wing signed with MU last fall and has remained bought in through the Tigers’ struggles of last season. And wood-looking saxophone reeds aside, Boateng enjoyed a stellar year on the hardwood with Little Rock Central.
Those Tigers won the Arkansas Class 6A high school championship in March. Boateng finished with 14 points and a game-high 10 rebounds in the title game to receive most valuable player honors for a decisive fourth-quarter run — and playing the entire game.
“A state championship was always one of my biggest things on my bucket list,†Boateng said. “It just showed a great reward for all the hard work I put in.â€
After the season, Boateng was named the Gatorade Player of the Year for Arkansas — his second time receiving the award. He averaged 18.4 points, 7.9 rebounds and 1.4 steals per game during his senior high school season while, yes, keeping up with playing the saxophone in three different school bands.
On Saturday, Boateng will play in the Nike Hoop Summit, a highly touted showcase for basketball prospects of his age. The event format pits a U.S. team against a World team.
Boateng will represent Ghana on the World team, joining a mix of 19-and-under prospects headed to both this year’s NBA Draft and colleges. Both of his parents are from Ghana.
Talking with reporters on the day before the game, Boateng felt like the all-star game appearance would be a chance to represent a whole lot of the things that have vaulted him to the next level of basketball.
“I’m here to represent not only my last name but my ethnicity, my people, my home country, my mom and dad, even represent my high school, everybody I’ve grown up with and Mizzou as well,†he said.
Boateng’s soon-to-be coach is happy to have an incoming player joining the ranks of Hoop Summit alumni, which includes the likes of Kevin Durant, Dirk Nowitzki, Kevin Garnett, Chaminade product Jayson Tatum and brief Missouri player Michael Porter Jr.
“He’s an unbelievable young man who’s representing us in a prestigious game,†Gates said.
The Nike Hoop Summit takes place in Portland, Oregon, and will be televised on Fox Sports 1 at approximately 9 p.m. Saturday.
After that game, Boateng will play in another offseason showcase, the Iverson Classic. That All-American event takes place May 2-4 in Virginia.
From there, he’ll graduate high school in Little Rock before promptly heading north to Columbia for summer workouts and classes in June. The Mizzou coaching staff has already given Boateng some bits of his game to hone the coming weeks.
“What they want me to improve on is just my guard assets: being able to be a better ball handler, being able to read the pick and roll, being able to become a knockdown shooter,†Boateng said.
In the fall, he’ll join a five-member freshman class that is ranked fifth in the country by . There’s plenty of optimism around that group, but following Missouri’s last-place finish in the Southeastern Conference last season and 19 straight losses to end the campaign, there will also be some expectations for collective program improvement.
Boateng is ready to tackle that, too, as he gets settled on campus and in Mizzou Arena.
“Overall, just keep my head down, remember to work hard and (that) I’m there for a reason,†he said. “I wouldn’t be recruited if I wasn’t good enough, so just realizing that I’m good enough. The race is between myself — like, I shouldn’t compare myself to others when going into this.â€