Little Rock Central freshman guard/forward Annor Boateng, fresh off a strong showing at the Pangos All-South Frosh/Soph camp, has received his first offer from Arkansas.
Boateng, 6-5, 195 pounds, was named the MVP of the Black squad at Pangos by scoring 12 points and grabbing six rebounds in a 103-95 loss to the White team in the Cream of the Crop Top 30 game over the weekend. The event featured 219 campers from 13 states.
Arkansas coach Eric Musselman told him of the offer.
“The offer was a huge surprise because the first time I talked to him was a Zoom call earlier this week,” Boateng said. “I was actually pretty surprised and happy, too.”
He said his talks with Musselman came easy.
“It’s very easy to start a conversation with him,” Boateng said. “He’s very outgoing and it's easy to relate to him and be comfortable around him.”
Boateng, who has a 4.0 grade point average, attended Pinnacle View Middle School the past two years. Musselman told him what the Razorbacks like about him.
“He said I was very physical, especially for a freshman,” Boateng said. "They said I actually had a good physique and I was able to handle the ball and bring it down the court, and I have a lot of strength compared to the people that I play against.”
Oklahoma State and Arkansas-Pine Bluff have also shown interest.
Little Rock Central basketball coach Brian Ross said Boateng’s physical maturity stands out.
“The first thing that stands out is his size, and he’s not like one of these tall, skinny freshmen,” Ross said. “I’ve been telling people this is probably what LeBron (James) looked like when he was in the ninth grade. He’s not only big and athletic looking, he’s actually strong.
"He’s the second strongest guy on our team in the weight room. He has a 33-inch vertical already.”
Boateng was set to play for the Joe Johnson Arkansas Hawks during the spring and summer until covid-19 cancelled the Adidas circuit.