Development has been a trademark for University of Arkansas men's basketball Coach Eric Musselman and his staff in Fayetteville and that has ESPN 5-star junior prospect Amier Ali ready to make an official visit.
Ali's father Mohamed said he likes what he sees of Musselman's program.
"They get their guys ready to go to the NBA," Mohamed Ali said. "Coach has been doing a great job. We've been communicating. He's been talking to me pretty much every other day. The coaching staff does a really good job of developing and let their freshmen play through mistakes. I've been watching a lot of games."
The younger Ali, 6-8, 180 pounds, of IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla., has scholarship offers from Arkansas, Kentucky, Kansas, LSU, Alabama, Ohio State, Texas, UCLA, Memphis, Kansas State and others.
Mohamed said he and his son will likely make an official visit to Fayetteville in March, but he hopes to attend a couple of Arkansas home games in the next month or in March.
"I also want to come up probably catch a couple of games live, so I can get prepared of how the coaches and the atmosphere and everything is over there," he said.
Mohamed also said his son is a winner and the winning culture at Arkansas is attractive.
"He wants Amier to be a starter at Arkansas," Mohamed said of Musselman. "He wants him to come and play for him and he wants him to contribute to the program and play through his mistakes."
Amier was born in Philadelphia and moved to Columbus, Ohio, at age four. The family eventually moved to Texas where he began playing basketball in the seventh grade. He started getting serious about his game the summer after the eighth grade and received his first scholarship offer as a ninth-grader while playing at Spring Creek Academy in Plano, Texas.
ESPN rates him as the No. 4 small forward and No. 13 overall prospect in the nation for the 2024 class. He possesses an all-round game highlighted by his athleticism and ability to shoot from deep.
Amier played up and helped the 17-under Houston Hoops advance to the Final Four of Nike Peach Jam last summer by scoring 16 points and having 6 rebounds, an assist and a steal while hitting 4 of 6 three-pointers in a 74-58 victory over City Rocks.
His father said defense will be a focus going forward.
"Our main goal is to focus on defense this summer and the next summer until we go to college, so he can be ready for college defense and to guard 1 through 5," Mohamed said. "That's the mission. A lot of development and working hard."
Amier has officially visited Ohio State and Texas, and is planning others to Kentucky, Ohio State and Kansas in addition to Arkansas. He also plans unofficial visits to Mississippi State, Georgia Tech and UCLA.
The elder Ali moved to the United States from Somalia in 1998.
"America is the greatest country ever and the people are so good in America," Mohamed said. "Not everybody is the same obviously, but you only have to travel for you to know what you have. That's why I tell everybody in America, you don't know what you have 'til it's gone."
With his son being a high-profile prospect, Mohamed said he hopes Amier can inspire Somalias back home, in the U.S. and around the world.
"He has a lot of support, a lot of young fellas looking up to him," Mohamed said. "It's never been done in our community, so he's the first one and all these kids are looking up to him. He has to send a message how to act, how to be professional, how to be pro, so he can take it to the young fellas coming up and teach them the right things, so they can carry themselves the right way."
Email Richard Davenport at rdavenport@arkansasonline.com
Amier Ali