Big East Takeover: Marquette’s Dexter Akanno in the O-Simplis Lab!
What is Truth? It exists in Marquette redshirt freshman Dexter Akanno.
It was planted in him since birth by his deeply spiritual and awesome mom, Mercy Eze, who is a family nurse practitioner that moved to the US from Nigeria long ago.
If you talked to Mercy like I have, you’d instantly know Dex will be that guy. You don’t just talk to this wise, happy-go-lucky mom, you experience a tour de force in convo with her. For days after speaking to her I was convinced I had messed heavy with someone as great as South Africa’s Nelson Mandela, that level of wisdom.
Mercy dropping mad knowledge on E-Woods? She rewrote my thinking, in just one talk.100.
Mercy Eze doesn’t just heal patients, her real medicine is her 3 kids that will cure the world. Dex’s 2 older sisters Chine and Chioma are a lil older than him, one already a nurse, the other studying to that goal.
I’ve spent so, so many hours watching Dex grind and chopping it up in convo with him as he prepares for next year. I’m very high on Mr. Akanno because he has the perfect big guard body at 6-4, his moves to the rim dazzle, his mid range is wit it, and his beyond the arc skills amaze me.
Dude is smooooooth, not to mention his mentality is next, next level.
Real talk? Last time I bore witness to such a sub-zero cold game from a warm hearted person was with Dorell Wright in O4’. Both guys have a hoop game, pre NBA days that say “pop, pop- jimmy shot ballin!” Both have mad bunnies to spare!
I feel that eventually D-Akanno is fixing to put on a show in college that is pure substance and style like D-Wright did in his 5th year of prep school. Both are athletic and fiercely aggressive, both are the epitome of the word humble.
Want to hear something crazy? I ask God to give me signs, some hints of a player’s future possible destiny, offer me little coincidental details that lead me to believe a player will be transcendent.
Something struck me when I heard Dex was a 6-4, 215 lb guard. Stop, say the measurements again, 6-4, 215 lbs and he just redshirted out of Marquette? Hmmm. Dex isn’t out of Harold Richards High is he? No, Dex is not out of Chicago but why do those places pop up in my head when I meet him? Dex is out of Valencia High near LA and had a killer 5th year at Blair Academy in New Jersey two years ago.
Now that I’ve shared Dex’s background (more on Harold Richards High later), we will change gears to show how a special person in Dex’s life, his Uber NBA trainer deluxe Olin Simplis, has been Frankenstein-ing Dex for many months. The same way Olin has prepped mad dozens of NBA, WNBA, elite college and prep ballers in the last 20 years.
It’s 10 am, June 8th, 2020. Dex and Olin are under the rim of the American Sports gym in Glendale, California, which is pretty smack dab in the middle of LA. Dex catches O’s pass from 2 feet away, simple lay up, repeating 50 times right, then left sided.
It’s Mercy’s voice that plays in my head as I see all these lay-ups occur, she’s telling me how Dex was always underestimated, how his 1st high school didn’t appreciate him enough. He was only 5-7 as a freshman, played his heart out. Yet they didn’t let him play varsity as a frosh.
I’ll let Mercy explain more, “I got Dexter to play basketball because he needed exercise. So encouraging him to play sports and exercise was the goal, he needed to hang out with other boys. In Nigeria, I was raised to take things seriously so I’d get my my boy up at 5 am in junior high and had him play AAU for Team Impact.
“He was asked to play all defense, that would get him hungry. He looked so into basketball that I did something that I never thought I’d do. I spent $60 on his 1st pair of Nike shoes. I was learning that a parent should invest money into equipment, into training.
“Dexter makes us very proud. His manners are so upright and I taught him to fill each day with as much goodness, work, and joy as possible, never waste opportunities.
“I taught him to say the phrase when he wakes up, ‘Today will be a good day.’ He began to say it to himself and to fill the day with hard work. He is a good boy, a hard-worker. I believe he is one of the best basketball players in his era.”
Olin and Dex take the shooting drill out 9 feet to the free throw line, catch the throw, one dribble through the legs, tear-drop floater to the rim. Over and over again until it becomes 2nd nature.
I think about Dex’s AAU high school trainer, the esteemed Robert Icart of BTI Basketball. Rob trained the utterly successful Gilbert Arenas back in the day and Rob had Dex playing alongside the fye Ziaire Williams and Drake London for his BTI high school team.
R-Icart? Great dude who has seen it all and he’s incredibly high on Dex. His words reinforced my projection of Dex being the man in Big East play.
I’ll let Rob share, “Dexter has been this low key, great kid that works so hard, even compared to all the other kids I’ve been lucky to be a part of. I tell my own kids ‘Dex stories’ to motivate them to achieve greatness,
“Dex wanted to show up at 4:30 am to train at his prep high school each morning, 6 am was too late. He never wanted to go home after training because he doesn’t have an off switch. We had to tell Dex ‘Give your body a break.’
“I’ll never forget the time we were playing LeBron James and Dwayne Wade’s sons Bronny and Zaire in an AAU tournament. Dex had this great game and D-Wade was all into talking to Marquette in game, pointing at Dex.
“After that game we were proud that D-Wade was gracious to come up to us and he came over to me saying, ‘Coach, your guy Dexter can really play.’ It was a proud moment and soon after that game Marquette really got into recruiting Dex and offered him a scholarship. I don’t think it was a coincidence.”
Feel me yet people? D-Wade at Marquette was 6-4, 215 lbs, did his own redshirt year like Dex did last year. After talking to Rob, it all came to together for me - D-Wade went to Harold Richards High in Chicago. I was just listening to God, taking in all the clues.
When have you had clues that sparked you to a real premonition?
It’s 10:45 am and Dex is running around pop-up defenders in Olin’s session, blowing by large barrel cones. O shouts “Hit 3 treys in a row Dex. Get that elbow up, look crisp young man.”
I see Mercy in my head cheering Dex on as Dex and O are getting down. I’m imagining this most elegant lady calling out to Dex, “You are my little monster Dexter. Go get it son, you have this.”
I remember in my mind’s eye what Olin said about Dexter to me the day before, “Dexter Akanno. One of the most committed and dedicated players I’ve had the chance of working out. In these last two months, we’ve made such a huge leap in his game.
“A lot of my NBA guys have been really impressed with him and his commitment on both sides of the floor. I truly believe Dexter will be my next “Big Guard U” alum to make it to the big big league!”
#huge words
What do I see ahead for Dex in the competitive Big East conference next year? Undoubtedly, many will go at his neck. Some might just try to get out of the way and avoid getting posterized like Jordan Clarkson did. I predict many will call Dex a problem in 20-21’ fosho.
#Dex is the cure, and the poison
Dex appreciates each person who has believed in him. Like Daytwan Mayfield who was a baller himself in the Valencia area and was Dex’s first trainer. D-Mayfield still works out Dex sometimes.
Daytwan had this to say, “I told Dex I’d never take a photo with him, I’m not that kind of guy. I’m just a guy who cares about him, believes in him. I just tried to get Dex going at an early age.”
It’s time we heard from Dex, Mercy’s humble little monster, that 5-7 small point guard as a freshman who must’ve grown a 1/2 inch per month into the next year. Nothing was given Dex, all had to be earned.
Why do I respect Dex like few others I’ve ever, ever wrote about? He has trained all his life for what’s about to lead up to next year. His big mission: to be a Big East Takeover.
I asked Dex to give me a quote on his BIG monster dunks all over NBA all-stars that he had in game at the Mamba Academy recently. I asked Dex to tell me, put it down on how that felt. He told me respectfully, not yet E, I haven’t earned it yet.
Teammate Markus Howard at Marquette had a year for the ages last year, 1st team All American. I said Dex, how about maybe a quote from M-Howard? Dex politely shakes his head and tells me “It’s not the right time yet E-Woods, I need to show it first in college E, I need to prove it all first!”
Man I love this kid big-time, he’s so humble, so hungry. This dude would spill every droplet of sangre that flows through his veins to achieve his goals, he’d spill every ounce of blood in his opponent’s body, figuratively speaking, to prove he is a warrior.
Dex is about this hoop life as he says what basketball means to him, “I really started playing basketball to fit in. All my friends in school played basketball and as a kid I wanted to make friends so I started playing basketball.
“I used to be terrible so I used to try and find and watch good basketball players. That’s how I found some of my favorite players. At the time, the biggest player was Kobe and he kept me interested in basketball to the point I got obsessed with him and the game.
“My immediate goal is to be a great contributor at Marquette University and also to the community both on and off the court. I want to contribute to winning games and making a run in the tournament and off the court to inspire, help, and teach kids. Eventually I want to make it to the NBA and have a great long career.”
“Olin is a great trainer. Olin does a great job of focusing on the little details and trying to master one or two skills at a time. He has put me in front of a lot of people and has had me compete with some great players. He has been a great mentor to me and has found ways to instill confidence in me and my game.”
# dope words
It’s about 11 am, I hear Dex’s favorite song playing in my head, How Much a Dollar Cost, by Kendrick Lamar. That is fitting because in these days of fans looking to come up on the next Ja Morant or Z-Williamson, Dex is more than a future pro NBA baller to me. Dex doesn’t just play hoop, but he goes at the game like K-Dot raps.
Feel and read K-Dot’s lyrics with me; this is D-Akanno’s fav song that reps his spirit:
“Tell me how much a dollar cost
It's more to feed your mind
Water, sun and love, the one you love
All you need, the air you breathe”
It’s 11:15 am, I see the NBA Pel’s Nickeil Alexander-Walker has joined Olin’s session, NAW is in Dex’s space for these one-on-one drills, they are both going hard at it, NAW is getting at it vs. Dex, as they both sweat, not giving an inch in playing a lil friendly shooting game.
Again, Mercy comes into my head. Her compelling story burns into my brain, as I see Dex falling for NAW’s fake, his polished hesi step, pop separation, splash of a made hoop. Mercy told me this African folktale that teaches wisdom that she shared with Dex and his 2 sisters at an early age.
It goes like this, a lion asks his 3 cubs how many times will you have to make a mistake before you learn your lesson and not make it again? He asks the oldest cub first and the oldest cub says 2 times, then I will learn not to do it again.
Then the father asks the next oldest cub and he says just once, then I will learn not to do it. And then he asks the youngest how many mistakes for you little one, how many times will it take for you?
The baby cub looks up and says confidently that it will take zero times to learn from a mistake because I’ve already watched and learned from the mistakes of my older siblings. I will not make the same mistake.
That’s Dex, who has watched and studied his older sisters Chine and Chioma. He’s also watched Keil’s moves and noted which were successful and which were mistakes. Dex stretches out, anticipates Keil’s shot, and blocks it a bit. Baby cub in action.
Who is Dex? Just a dope, dope person, a smart articulate guy, a great student, fye future college baller headed for really big things. He is also momma’s little monster. When Dex sent me Mercy Eze’s phone number, it simply said “momma.”
Mercy Eze didn’t just have her son, she planted him to heal the world. He’s destined to grow a big game, maybe big enough to be that Big East Takeover. No longer a 5-7 freshman prep point guard, he is a 6-4, 215 lb beast, that grown-up lion on a mission.
My question to you the reader is, will you tune in to see the Dex show, or will you miss it? Will Dex be the next Ja Morant? Maybe. Next D-Wright or D-Wade? Maybe.
But he’ll be the 1st dope Dexter Akanno. Most definitely. 100.