Link Academy basketball's T.O. Barrett signs with Missouri: 'I've been dreaming of this like my whole life'

Missouri has second-ranked basketball recruiting class for 2024

BRANSON, MISSOURI – When he signed with the University of Missouri basketball program on Wednesday morning, it was something Antonio “T.O.” Barrett had been dreaming about for a long time.

A 6-foot-4 senior combo guard from Oklahoma, Barrett was among 10 seniors – seven boys and three girls – from the Link Academy’s growing basketball program to sign with colleges on Wednesday.

“It was a really exciting moment for me,” Barrett said following his team’s season-opening 83-46 win over visiting SEMO Prep on Wednesday night. “I’ve been dreaming of this like my whole life – going to college for free, getting my education paid for and the opportunity to play at the Division I level. It was really exciting.”

Ranked as the No. 88 prospect overall and No. 14 combo guard in the Class of 2024, Barrett chose the Tigers after also receiving offers from Oklahoma State and Oklahoma, among others.

It’s official 💛 @MizzouHoops pic.twitter.com/4JpdH3wmxL

— T.o. Barrett (@To_Barrett) November 8, 2023

He said he chose Mizzou because of head coach Dennis Gates and the coaching staff.

“They recruited me really hard,” Barrett said. “I took my first official visit there and I just fell in love with it. Coach (Dennis) Gates, Coach (Kyle) Smithpeters and Coach CY (Charlton Young), they just made me fall in love with it. I talk to Coach Gates. He’s a real down-to-Earth guy. He keeps it 100 with you, tells the truth.”

Gates had a big day himself on Wednesday as Missouri signed five four-star prospects all ranked in the Top 100 of the 247Sports 2024 rankings: Arkansas shooting guard Annor Boateng (No. 41 nationally), Georgia center Peyton Marshall (No. 57), Florida small forward Marcus Allen (No. 63), Barrett (No. 88) and Texas center Trent Burns (No. 100).

“It’s real exciting,” Barrett said. “We’re going to be real good. We’ve got the talent to do that. We’ve got the talent to win a lot of games, make a run for a championship, go far in March Madness – do what we want to do.”

Gates’ recruiting haul is currently ranked second nationally, behind Duke and ahead of North Carolina, and the Tigers still have a chance to add 247Sports’ No. 9 overall prospect Jayden Quaintance.

A 6-9 center from Ohio at Word of God Christian Academy in North Carolina, Quaintance is down to four finalists: Florida, Kentucky, Missouri and Ohio State.

But before he makes the move from Branson to Columbia, Barrett and his Link Academy teammates are looking to show what they can do this season.

The Lions went 27-1 and won the GEICO national championship a year ago, but second-year head coach Bill Armstrong’s new-look squad does not return a single player from that roster.

Instead, Link Academy reloaded with another talented group headlined by five-star shooting guard Tre Johnson (247Sports’ No. 4 overall prospect in the Class of 2024) and four other seniors ranked in the Top 100: Kansas-bound point guard Labaron Philon (No. 27), Arkansas-bound forward Jason Shelley (No. 68), Barrett (No. 88) and North Carolina-bound center James Brown (No. 91).

National Signing Day updates: 10 Link Academy basketball players sign with colleges

The Lions also added junior combo guard Jasper Johnson, a Kentucky native who is currently ranked 10th overall in the Class of 2025.

Link Academy shook off a slow start on Wednesday night before rolling in a big win. Barrett was one of the Lions' catalysts with nine points – all in the final three quarters.  

“We picked it up defensively,” Barrett said. “We got used to the zone. We really weren’t expecting that, facing a zone. We came out defensively with more pressure, more intensity, and we turned it up a notch and it worked.”

Tre Johnson leads Link Academy basketball to season-opening win over SEMO Prep

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- Nate Latsch | latsch@scorebooklive.com | @SBLiveMiz