Recruiting Report: Akoi Akoi (2020)
***Photo from MBCA (possibly may have originated from Mason Crow) Six-foot-6 forward Akoi Akoi of Sioux Falls O’Gorman earned All State honors on a balanced team as a junior and has now earned a D2 scholarship with the South Dakota…
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Continue Reading***Photo from MBCA (possibly may have originated from Mason Crow)
Six-foot-6 forward Akoi Akoi of Sioux Falls O’Gorman earned All State honors on a balanced team as a junior and has now earned a D2 scholarship with the South Dakota Attack. Prep Hoops caught up with Akoi today.
A lot of players receive initial scholarship offers leading to several different reactions. For Akoi the offer seemed to bring both relief and joy.
“When they (University of Sioux Falls) first called about the offer I was extremely happy, I felt excitement that I’ve never felt before,” Akoi explained. “And i’m just so relieved that I know i can play college ball somewhere.”
USF has been a constant tracking Akoi – a 6-foot-6 forward with both agility and face-up skill to produce – but USF hasn’t been alone.
“USF has been on my radar recently but Minnesota-Duluth, Bethany Lutheran College (in Mankato), and MSU (Minnesota State-Mankato University) are some other schools that have been connecting as well. I visited USF a couple weeks ago and I plan to get on Southwest Minnesota State pretty soon.”
Akoi plays with an Attack team with one of the toughest frontcourts in all of the Midwest. Nationally ranked Matthew Mors, D2 offered Alex Van Kaslbeek, and Akoi make up a frontcourt that at times also adds D2 offered Kobe Busch to make it nearly unstoppable. They are 12-2 on the season through three events with a team camp coming up followed by July tournaments in Kansas, Las Vegas, and Minneapolis.
“The first tournament playing with my new AAU team was a blast for me,” Akoi explained. “We went 4-0 down in Council Bluffs which I thought was amazing. Then the weekend after we had a terrific weekend in Madison. Playing for Attack has given me the most exposure i’ve had all season.”
Playing with the Attack has also ran parallel with Akoi’s off-season work to improve as a player.
“My main goal is getting in the weight room at least 4 times a week. Going to the gym on my own time and eating right this summer will definitely benefit improve myself as a player.”
Then will come the winter. O’Gorman finished as the state runner-up last year going 18-6. They were a balanced team with four players averaging between nine and eleven points per game. Of those four, three of those players (Jack Cartwright, Zach Norton, and Akoi) return to O’Gorman plus much talent is coming through the program.
“Overall I believe we have a lot of talent with most of our guys that have been around in these past years. Potential wise I think we have some really good guys that seem like they all want to be in the mix and will definitely step up.”
Akoi Akoi is an under the radar Wing for @SDATTACK. He is proving each tournament just how valuable of a player he is on the court.#PHCircuit
Full Video 🎥: https://t.co/ja8ntZv4Oc pic.twitter.com/xedoJlgxMP
— Prep Hoops Circuit 🏀 (@PHCircuit) May 9, 2019