Nana Akenten Signs Letter of Intent To Play Nebraska Basketball

Back in September Nebraska offered a verbal commitment from a 2017 recruit. A 6’6” guard by the name of Nana Akenten. Yesterday, he signed his letter of Intent to play for the Big Red.

Nana (just say it 8 time in a row and end it with “Batman!”) is coming off a season where he was averaging 14 points and 7 rebounds a game for Bolingbrook High in Bolingbrook, IL.

Akenten’s name has been somewhat of an unknown until recently and is looked at as a bit of a diamond in the rough. Nebraska has been his only Power 5 offer. He was heavily recruited by current Husker assistant and former Western Illinois head coach Jim Molinari.

Molinari’s contact back in the Land of Lincoln must have tipped him off on something special because it didn’t take long before the Huskers offered the guard.

The full statement from the Nebraska Basketball release:

University of Nebraska Men’s Basketball Coach Tim Miles announced Thursday that Nana Akenten (prounounced uh-ken-ten) has signed a National Letter-of-Intent to attend the University of Nebraska and play basketball for the Huskers beginning in the 2017-18 season.

Akenten, a 6-foot-6, 200-pound guard from Bolingbrook, Ill., is considered one of the top players in the state of Illinois after leading Bolingbrook High School to a 16-9 record in 2015-16 for Coach Rob Brost. He was rated one of the top-10 players in the state of Illinois by PrepHoops.com earlier this fall.

“We are thrilled to have a young man like Nana join our program,” Miles said. “He brings so many attributes that will help our team - on and off the court. He is a great kid with a strong support group around him in his mother Margaret and his coaches Quintin Garrison and Rob Brost, who run an excellent program at Bolingbrook High.”

“I believe Nana may be one of the most underrated kids out there this year,” Miles said. “He has tremendous work ethic and commitment to the game. He is an exceptional athlete. He can really guard, his shooting ability is excellent and his range looks effortless. He will be expected to come in and help us immediately, and I know Nana is up for that challenge.”

As a junior, he helped BHS to the Class 4A regional championship game as the team replaced four starters from the previous year. Akenten averaged 14.0 points, 6.9 rebounds and 1.0 steals per game while shooting 46 percent from the field. For his efforts, he was a special-mention Class 3A/4A all-state selection, a first-team all-area selection and a first-team All-SouthWest Suburban Conference Blue Division honoree. As a sophomore, he played an instrumental role in helping Bolingbrook to a 25-9 record and a third-place finish at the Class 4A State Tournament, marking the school’s first-ever state tournament appearance. He also played with the Illinois Celtics/Hoopers AAU program. In addition to his efforts on the basketball court, Akenten also ran track, qualifying for the state meet as part of the 800-meter relay.

Akenten selected Nebraska over a number of schools, including UNLV, SMU and Colorado State. He is the son of Margaret Oduko and was born on September 17, 1998.

Akenten is the fourth high school player from Illinois to sign with the Huskers in the last three recruiting classes, joining current sophomores Ed Morrow Jr. and Glynn Watson Jr. and freshman Isaiah Roby.

We welcome Nana to the Husker family and look forward to seeing him contribute to the team.