Louisville basketball: Kenny Payne showing interest in top 2024 Okla. product

Kenny Payne’s list of impressive players continues to grow in the Class of 2024. He already holds a commitment from New Jersey guard, TJ Robinson and has a visit set up for this month with Wisconsin sharpshooter Kon Knueppel. He is also allegedly in on four-star wing Jalen Shelley and now it has been reported that he is recruiting four-star guard T.O. Barrett.

T.O. Barrett is a 6-foot-5 guard from Oklahoma, and he is in the top 105 prospects in the Class of 2024. After one of the most impressive offseason turnarounds, it appears the Louisville basketball program is back on the map as one of the top destinations to play collegiate basketball. Kenny Payne has made it evident to many recruits that he is here to help them achieve their dreams of playing at the NBA level.

And with the facilities and the KFC Yum Center, the University of Louisville has a lot to offer. So much so that five-star Trentyn Flowers committed to Louisville and even decided to re-classify to the 2023 recruiting cycle. Not to mention Dennis Evans, Tre White, Skyy Clark, Ty-Laur Johnson, and the list goes on.

The level of talent that Kenny Payne has coming in is leaps and bounds ahead of last year’s 4-28 squad. With all of that being said, the reality of landing talent like T.O. Barrett is not as farfetched anymore.

Barrett currently holds Division I offers from all over the country, including Mississippi State, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, and Missouri. He spent the first three years of high school at Edmond North High School in Edmond, Oklahoma. But, he decided to transfer to Link Academy for his senior season, the same school that five-star UNC commit Elliot Cadeau played for.

T.O., short for Antonio, led his Edmond North team to back-to-back state championships in his sophomore and junior seasons. Heading into halftime of the most recent state championship matchup against Broken Arrow, Edmond North was down. But, they followed behind T.O. Barrett’s lead, who led the team with 17 points and four three-pointers.

He clearly has a “dog mentality” as he had this to say after the game,

"“We all had to play defense,” said North point guard TO Barrett. “Not one of us could fall asleep for even one play. So we all locked in, and knew what we had to do.”"

Defense wins championships. And that’s exactly what it took to come from behind and secure the Huskies’ second straight state championship.

Barrett would be an incredible asset to the Louisville basketball program. He possesses everything that Head Coach Kenny Payne looks for in prospects, so it will be interesting to see how long it will take for the staff to extend a scholarship to him.