Recruiting Report: Dexter Akanno (2019)
Valencia High and BTI Select guard Dexter Akanno knows that him not playing with a big name high school or with a circuit team has him flying a little under the radar when it comes to his recruitment.
But the 6-foot-4, 190-pound playmaker isn't too worried about heading into the spring and summer holding only one firm offer from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo because he's confident his game will speak to his Division I abilities.
“I'm gritty with a chip on my shoulder,” Akanno told Prep Hoops So-Cal. “I'm relentless going at my defender, but I do make it a point to find my teammates. I can be unselfish with this group of guys and set them up.”
[caption id="attachment_334860" align="alignright" width="300"] Valencia High and BTI guard Dexter Akanno seeing plenty of interest as he prepares for a prep year.[/caption]Akanno used that chip to his and his team's advantage two weekends back when the local BTI club defeated The Truth, a Nike EYBL circuit team, in a physical sudden death overtime game at the non-live SoCal Spring Tip Off event in Garden Grove.
“We play whoever and compete with whoever,” Akanno said after the emotional victory. “Our guys just have so much heart and give 100 percent every time out. I love playing with these guys and I wouldn't go to war with anyone else.”
Akanno will graduate this summer from Valencia up near Magic Mountain and will is planning on spending a prep year at Blair Academy located in Blairstown, New Jersey, where the 17 year-old is preparing to not only grow as a player, but to mature as a person.
“I'm going to get stronger, faster and up my basketball IQ,” he said. “I'm going to get in the mindset of being in college because high school is way different, especially public high school.”
Akanno reports interest from Tulane, Oregon State, Cal Poly, UC Irvine, Virginia, Charlotte, UC Davis, San Diego, Nevada and some Ivy's like Princeton, Yale and Brown.
Akanno's versatile game, complete with an explosive first step, second-level blow by speed and court vision allows him to play either guard spot offensively, while his strong frame, coupled with length and good lateral speed, lends to his ability to defend both guard spots.
