The name stands out.
So, too, does the game that Spring Mills’ Akwasi Opoku-Achampong possesses.
“He’s West Virginia’s version of Steph Curry,” says Cardinals’ head coach Luke Samples.
Opoku-Achampong came on to the scene in a big way last season as a sophomore when he earned Class AAAA second-team all-state captain honors after playing an integral role as a starter on a team that finished 25-2 and state runner-up.
The 5-foot-9 guard averaged just south of 10 points a season ago and was one of the state’s most feared shooters from the perimeter. Over three games in the 2024 state tournament, he scored 35 points to earn all-tournament team honors.
Yet it’s a shot Opoku-Achampong missed — a deep three-pointer just before time expired in regulation in last season’s state title game against Morgantown — that is perhaps most remembered as the Mohigans then went on to win their third straight state championship in overtime.
When two of the state’s premier programs battled for the first time since that memorable matchup last Tuesday at MHS, Samples was left smiling as Opoku-Achampong controlled the ball near the top of the key with time winding down in the first half and sank a triple just before the buzzer sounded to give SMHS a 27-20 halftime lead.
“He took a lot of heat and so did I for letting him do that at the end of the state championship, but now you see why I did,” Samples said. “He doesn’t miss very many of them.”
The Cardinals (9-0) went on to a 57-40 victory and have won seven of their first nine games by double figures.
In the triumph against Morgantown, Opoku-Achampong made two threes in each of the first three quarters and led all players with 18 points. As usual, he was efficient in doing so and attempted 10 shots.
“This year, I’m more confident,” Opoku-Achampong said. “Last year, I’d pass up some shots I wouldn’t pass up this year.”
The Cardinals returned just about all of their production from last year’s team that was the most successful in program history over the school’s brief 11-year history.
To this point this season, Spring Mills is averaging 66.3 points and surrendering only 43.2. The Cardinals have three out-of-state victories against Hazelton (Pa.), Walt Whitman (Md.) and George Marshall (Va.).
In handling Whitman 84-53 one day after Christmas, Spring Mills scored a resounding win over last year’s 4A runner-up in a neighboring state.
A 66-64 victory at Parkersburg South is the toughest challenge yet the Cardinals have faced, and since the narrow win over the Patriots, Spring Mills has won comfortably against Linsly, Washington, Musselman, Morgantown and Hedgesville, with the latest victory against the Eagles coming Friday in impressive fashion, 49-27.
Through nine games, Opoku-Achampong has upped his scoring average to 13.8. On three occasions, he’s led the Cardinals in scoring this season, though he was the team’s second-leading scorer when he recorded a season high 23 points against Whitman, which included seven threes.
“You have to work on your game and shoot every day to be a good shooter,” Opoku-Achampong said.
In the win over Whitman, Caleb Thomas led the way with 27 points. Thomas, a versatile 6-foot-7 senior, also has a game with a school record 42 points this season.
Opoku-Achampong, Thomas and 6-foot-5 senior Loakkhae Uth-Smith have each been the Cardinals’ leading scorer on three occasions this season.
“We have seven or eight guys that can put points on the board for us,” Opoku-Achampong said, “so there can be a different leading scorer every night.”
For all his prowess on the perimeter, Opoku-Achampong, as a point guard, remains the team’s primary ball-handler and is often tasked with getting the Cardinals into their half court sets or pushing the pace when the opportunity presents itself.
While his shooting often stands out, Opoku-Achampong has also added to his game by displaying an increase and poise and maturity as a polished veteran at the varsity level.
“He’s a true point guard. I think he’s the most underrated player in West Virginia,” Samples said. “He’s really, really, really good. I told him with [Morgantown’s] Marty Johnson on the other side that might be the two best point guards in the state, and you have to win the battle. You’ve been waiting for this matchup and go do it. He did it. When you switch a big on him, you take that risk and he can shoot it from deep. He was only a sophomore last year and he was so young. He evolved playing Baltimore Catholic League and WCAC [Washington Catholic Athletic Conference] guards all year. Those guys pressured him and he got better.”