Akol Arop was only going into the eighth grade four years ago, but he already thought he knew where he wanted to play basketball in college.
At that time his older brother, then-2018 recruit Aguek Arop of Omaha South, had just given his verbal commitment to Nebraska to become the youngest known Husker pledge ever.
Akol already had plans to one-up Aguek.
"It pushes me to work even harder," Akol told HuskerOnline.com back in 2014. "I know (Aguek) was the youngest player to ever commit to Nebraska as a sophomore, and now I want to beat him by doing it as a freshman."
A lot has obviously changed since then.
Aguek ended up de-committing from Nebraska prior to his senior season and eventually landed at San Diego State as a 2019 recruit. There was some blowback on NU head coach Tim Miles around the state as a result, especially from members of the Omaha basketball community.
After that, it was widely assumed Akol Arop’s interest in the Huskers - and vice versa - had come to an abrupt end. As it turns out, that couldn’t be further from the truth.
Miles and assistant coach Michael Lewis were front and center to watch the Omaha Creighton Prep senior and his OSA Crusaders U17 AAU program at the Adidas Gauntlet Finale in New York City last weekend.
Arop shined all weekend and ended up landing his first high-major offer from the Huskers.
“I was really happy to receive an offer from a school that recruited my older brother,” Arop said on Thursday. “He was going to go there but it didn’t work out, but I was happy for myself. I worked hard for this.”
Arop also quickly dismissed the notion that the falling out between Nebraska and Aguek would have any impact on his recruitment with the Huskers.
“It’s not a factor at all,” Arop said. “(Aguek) made a decision for himself, and I respect him for making his own decision. Hopefully he does great at San Diego State. But my situation is totally different and I’m focused on what’s going to be the best thing for me.”
The 6-foot-6 Arop has generally followed his own path when it comes to basketball. He opted to attend Creighton Prep over Omaha South, where his three older brothers all played. Along with his on-court accomplishments, Arop is also an honors student.
He also has been determined to break away from being type-cast as merely a great athlete who plays basketball. Already boasting an unofficial 36-inch no-step vertical jump, Arop has focused on evolving his game to become a legitimate perimeter player.
Those efforts showed up in a big way last weekend in New York, where he averaged more than 19 points per game and shot nearly 70 percent from the field and 60 percent from 3-point range.
Arop said Miles was one of the first coaches to tell him he needed to improve that aspect of his game last fall going into his junior season.
“I’ve been working on that for a while, and it’s something I’ve gotten way better at,” Arop said. “That’s going to be something that will be really important for me at the next level because I won’t be playing much in the post. I need to be able to knock down those outside shots if I want to play.
“(Miles) watched me last year and was recruiting me in April, and he said this summer he’s seen me progress with my game, especially playing outside on the perimeter. He really liked that and how I’ve progressed.”
Nebraska is currently Arop’s lone high-major offer, but he also holds tenders from Tulsa, Omaha, Alabama-Birmingham, Drake, UC-Davis, UNC-Greensboro, San Diego, and Towson. Tulsa and Western Illinois have also been showing heavy interest.
His plan is to let the rest of the July live evaluation periods play out and then sit down with his family and narrow down a final list of five schools. From there he’ll schedule his official visits, and if all goes accordingly, Arop will make his commitment prior to his senior season.
A first-team All-Nebraska selection last season, Arop averaged 16.0 points and 9.7 rebounds per game as a junior and led all of Class A with a 65.9 field goal percentage.
His play helped the Junior Jays put together a stellar 26-1 season capped with a Class A state championship win over Bellevue West.
But Creighton Prep must replace a big chunk of last year’s production in 2018-19. Now as one of the highest-profile players in the state, Arop is ready to put the bulk of that weight on his shoulders.
“This will be a big season for us and for me personally,” Arop said. “We lost a lot of guys from last year, and we’re going to have a whole new team. I need to step up and be a leader. I have a lot of pressure on my back, so I need to be ready and focused and be able to handle everything that comes at me.”
