6/30/2023 basketball Edit

Missouri earns first 2024 commitment from Antonio "T.O." Barrett

Drew King • PowerMizzou

Basketball Writer

Missouri is on the board in the Class of 2024 as four-star guard Antonio “T.O.” Barrett announced his commitment to the Tigers on Thursday.

The Edmond, Okla. native was first offered by assistant coach Kyle Smithpeters on July 25 and took an official visit to Mizzou on Sept. 16. Barrett’s other offers included Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Tulsa, Wichita State, Montana, Missouri State, Oral Roberts, Southeast Missouri State, and UT Arlington.

Barrett said he’s talked with Smithpeters “very often” over the past year. The relationships between Missouri’s coaches and their players helped sway his decision.

“The coaches came off like they were really close with their players,” Barrett said. “You know, it felt like it was a family environment and that really stuck out to me.”

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The 6-foot-5 guard doesn’t like to be labeled as just a “shooter” or a “playmaker.” He calls himself a basketball player, someone who’s versatile enough to do whatever his team needs to win.

Barrett led Edmond North High School to a 27-2 overall record and 14-0 record in district play this past season, winning the Oklahoma Secondary School Activities Association (OSSAA) Class 6A state championship. He joined forces with MOKAN Elite on the Nike EYBL circuit this summer, helping the team go 10-7 through pool play and earning a spot in the Peach Jam tournament next month while averaging 9.2 points, 5.4 rebounds and 2.9 assists.

"Barrett really started to pop off the page late this spring as his long-range shooting improved," Rivals.com national basketball analyst Rob Cassidy said. "He's a scoring guard first and foremost but he's not a bad passer on his best days. Sometimes he trusts himself a bit too much and gets careless. His length and relatively thick build allow him some defensive versatility that will serve him well as he becomes more engaged on that end."

MOKAN Elite head coach Dave Milliren noted that Barrett has an unselfish quality that’s uncommon for players his age. They call Barrett a “Swiss Army knife” in coaches' meetings because he’s able to adapt to any role assigned to him. Milliren said he’s always willing to guard the opposing team’s best player and, at 6-foot-5, usually has the size to do it regardless of what position. He also complimented Barrett’s coachability, noting that Barrett is especially open to criticism because he knows it’ll help him get better.

Milliren occasionally has to remind Barrett to slow down during games. MOKAN Elite rosters a 7-foot-2 center and two other forwards listed at 6-foot-10. If Barrett speeds up too much, it makes it difficult for the team’s bigs to keep up.

“And our bigs aren't slow, our bigs can run now,” Milliren said. “But that's what level of athlete he is. He's that fast.”

It’s one of the reasons Milliren thinks Barrett will be a perfect fit with Mizzou. The Tigers like to play fast, averaging 68.7 possessions per game in their first season with head coach Dennis Gates at the helm, which ranked 102nd in the country according to KenPom.

“If you don't know who he is, you're gonna be wowed by how athletic he is and how great of a defender he is,” Milliren said. “And then how well he can get to the rim and dunk on anybody's head. And he's going to try to dunk on you. Like, that's what he wants to do, he wants to go dunk on you. And he's bigger than you think he is and he's stronger than you think he is.”

Barrett is currently the No. 114-ranked member of his class, on par with the additions Gates made in the 2023 class with Jordan Butler, Trent Pierce and Anthony Robinson II. Barrett could see more exposure over the next year as he plans to transfer to Link Academy in Branson, Mo., playing in the National Interscholastic Basketball Conference (NIBC).

While Barrett is the first commit of Mizzou’s 2024 class, he almost certainly won’t be the last — with seven players entering their final year of eligibility this season, Gates will likely add multiple freshmen to next year’s roster.

Barrett is excited to suit up for the Tigers soon.

“I look forward to winning games with them, you know, just being a main part of us winning,” Barrett said. “Just bonding with the team, playing with the team, playing together and winning games with them. That's always the main goal.”