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What Landing Five-star Enoch Boakye Could Do for OSU

Boakye could lead to other big fish following his lead.

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Photo via FIBA/Canada Basketball

To say Oklahoma State’s 2021 basketball recruiting class is off to a slow start would be a massive undersell. Because, technically, it’s nonexistent. Pull up the 247Sports commitment page and you’ll find these words: No Results for 2021 Basketball.

There are, at this moment, zero recruits in the 2021 cycle committed to play for the Cowboys next season.

That could change soon if Enoch Boakye, the five-star Class of 2022 center from Canada who is reportedly strongly considering reclassifying to 2021, has a change of heart that leads him from flipping his allegiance to a Big Ten school to a Big 12 school.

Boakye decommitted from Michigan State this week and could well be on his way to doing just that. Already, OSU has entered the mix with force. They reportedly hosted him for a virtual visit, and two 247Sports analysts have projected his decision to lead him to Stillwater.

A Cade-level prodigy Boakye is not — the 6-foot-10 center ranks 20th nationally and fourth in his position at his classification, so a borderline five-star — but adding him to the mix would undeniably be a boon for a recruiting class that right now doesn’t have anyone on the way. (Side note here: No reason for alarm in this case, given that OSU isn’t losing a ton outside of Cade and potentially Bryce Williams and Ferron Flavors.)

Most importantly, it’d give OSU a real interior presence it has at times lacked this season. Kalib Boone’s no doubt been a revelation, but his 210-pound frame allows him to do only so much. Boakye, a towering big pushing 250, would give OSU the height of Bernard Kouma and the skill of Kalib Boone with the fluidity falling somewhere in between.

At the very least, he’d give OSU a big to help build around for the future alongside Boone and Kouma, which would be significant with OSU likely bringing back the majority of its backcourt next season. It’d give Boynton and Co. a chance to run it back without Cade but with a more experienced and talented frontcourt.

Here’s another reason to keep an eye on this one: Canada ain’t talent-poor. Matthew-Alexander Moncrieffe has by the game looked more and more like a steal for OSU in its 2020 class as the freshman continues to develop. So adding Boakye from up north would be a big step in establishing some sort of pipeline from Stillwater to Canada. That is not something to scoff at with Elijah Fisher — a five-star prodigy from Canada and 2023 talent regarded as a top-3 prospect in his class — coming down the pike. And there’s almost certainly more talent being groomed up north that will be capable of being difference-makers. Canada has produced the likes of Lu Dort, Andrew Nembhard and Iggy Brazdeikis, just to name a few.

So there are a lot of doors Boakye’s potential commitment could unlock for OSU if he indeed opts to call OSU his home, both potentially for next season and the future. What’s Michigan State’s loss would be a significant gain for the Pokes.

“I want to go to a place where I have the opportunity to make an impact right away. That’s the No. 1 goal of mine,” he told SI this week. “I don’t really have a timeline for deciding now. At the same time, I don’t want to waste anyone’s time. I think things will move fast. I think eventually I’ll get to a top three and then I’ll announce.”

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