Eric Yamoah Boateng (born 20 November 1985) is a British former professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

player. He is a former

college basketball College basketball is basketball that is played by teams of Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. In the Higher education in the United States, United States, colleges and universities are governed by collegiate athle ...

player with the

Arizona State Sun Devils men's basketball The Arizona State Sun Devils men's basketball team is the basketball team that represents Arizona State University in Tempe, Arizona, United States. The school's team currently competes in the Big 12 Conference. The Arizona State Sun Devils hav ...

team. He attended high school at St. Andrew's School in

Middletown, Delaware Middletown is a town in New Castle County, Delaware, United States. According to the 2021 Census, the population of the town is 24,164. Geography and climate Middletown is located at (39.4495560, –75.7163207) with an elevation of . According ...

. Boateng committed to

Duke University Duke University is a Private university, private research university in Durham, North Carolina, United States. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present-day city of Trinity, North Carolina, Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1 ...

out of high school, but transferred after one season to Arizona State. He is also a member of the senior men's Great Britain national basketball team. In November 2014, he was elected to a four-year term on the

British Olympic Association The British Olympic Association (BOA; ) is the National Olympic Committee for the United Kingdom. It represents the four constituent countries of the United Kingdom (England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland), but also incorporate represen ...

's Athletes' Commission. He was reelected to the Commission in November 2018.

High school career

Eric Boateng attended Ernest Bevin College in Tooting, South London, between 1997 and 2002, he later attended high school at St. Andrew's School in

, where he averaged 19.6 points, 13.6 rebounds and 4.6 blocked shots a game. Boateng was named Delaware high school player of the year by the Delaware Sportswriters & Broadcasters Association, and earned national recognition that included Gatorade State Player of the Year, 4th Team, and garnering the ranking of the 3rd best

center Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentrici ...

for the 2005 recruiting class, behind only

Andrew Bynum Andrew Bynum (born October 27, 1987) is an American former professional basketball player. He played the majority of his career with the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). After they selected him in the first round ...

and Amir Johnson. Boateng received scholarship offers from

Boston College Boston College (BC) is a private university, private Catholic Jesuits, Jesuit research university in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1863 by the Society of Jesus, a Catholic Religious order (Catholic), religious order, t ...

, Georgetown,

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school then known as the southern branch of the C ...

, Villanova, and

Duke Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of Royal family, royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and above sovereign princes. As royalty or nobi ...

. He eventually committed to attend Duke.

McDonald's All American Game

After his high school career, Boateng was added to the

2005 McDonald's All-American Boys Game The 2005 McDonald's All-American Boys Game was an All-star basketball game played on Wednesday, March 30, 2005 at the Joyce Center in South Bend, Indiana, home of the Fighting Irish of Notre Dame. The game's rosters featured the best and most ...

roster. Boateng played for the East squad, for whom he grabbed 6 rebounds, and had an assist, in 10 minutes.

College career

Boateng played four years of

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...

's Division I basketball between 2005 and 2010. After spending his first year at

, Boateng transferred to

Arizona State Arizona State University (Arizona State or ASU) is a public research university in Tempe, Arizona, United States. Founded in 1885 as Territorial Normal School by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, the university is one of the largest ...

. Due to NCAA rules, Boateng was forced to sit out a year before playing his final 3 seasons. As a senior, Boateng scored a career-high 24 points on 11-of-11 shooting against

Stanford Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth governor of and th ...

on 25 February 2010, tying school and Pac-10 records for highest field-goal percentage in a conference game, minimum of 10 shots taken. Boateng added six rebounds and three assists. "He wouldn't let us lose," ASU coach Herb Sendek said. "I'm so happy for him, because he's had an uphill climb to be in this place, to enjoy this moment."

College statistics

Professional career

After going undrafted in the

2010 NBA draft The 2010 NBA draft was held on June 24, 2010, at The Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York City. The draft, which started at 7:00 pm Eastern Time Zone, Eastern Daylight Time (2300 Coordinated Universal Time, UTC), was broadcast in the ...

, Boateng joined the

New York Knicks The New York Knickerbockers, shortened and more commonly referred to as the New York Knicks, are an American professional basketball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of Manhattan. The Knicks compete in the Na ...

for the 2010

NBA Summer League The NBA Summer League, also known as the Las Vegas Summer League, is an off-season basketball competition organized by the National Basketball Association (NBA). NBA teams come together to try out different summer rosters instead of their regula ...

, where he averaged 3.6 points per game and 3.2 rebounds per game. His performances impressed the

Denver Nuggets The Denver Nuggets are an American professional basketball team based in Denver. The Nuggets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Northwest Division (NBA), Northwest Division of the Western Conference (NBA), W ...

, who signed him to play in their pre-season squad. Through 5 games with the Nuggets, Boateng averaged 1.6 points per game and 4.2 rebounds per game, including a career high 10 rebounds in a win against the

Los Angeles Clippers The Los Angeles Clippers are an American professional basketball team based in the Greater Los Angeles area. The Clippers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference. The ...

. He was the last player cut by the Nuggets before the start of the

2010–11 NBA season The 2010–11 NBA season was the 65th season of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The 2011 NBA All-Star Game was played on February 20, 2011, at Staples Center in Los Angeles. Chicago's Derrick Rose was named the 2010–11 NBA MVP. Th ...

. Boateng was selected by the

Idaho Stampede Idaho ( ) is a landlocked state in the Pacific Northwest and Mountain West subregions of the Western United States. It borders Montana and Wyoming to the east, Nevada and Utah to the south, and Washington and Oregon to the west; the state s ...

in the 2010

NBA D-League The NBA G League, or simply the G League, is a professional basketball league in North America that serves as the developmental league of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The league comprises 31 teams; as of the 2024–25 season, ...

draft. On 2 February 2011, Boateng was traded to the

Austin Toros Austin refers to: Common meanings * Austin, Texas, United States, a city * Austin (given name), a list of people and fictional characters * Austin (surname), a list of people and fictional characters * Austin Motor Company, a British car manufac ...

, in a three team trade. He made his debut for the team on 3 February, playing 11 minutes against the

Fort Wayne Mad Ants The Noblesville Boom are an American professional basketball team based in Noblesville, Indiana that competes in the NBA G League. The Boom are the affiliate team of the NBA's Indiana Pacers and, since 2025, they have played their home games at ...

. In November 2011, Boateng signed with the

Greek Basket League The Greek Basketball League (GBL), and also known as the Stoiximan Greek Basketball League (GBL) for sponsorship reasons, is the Greek basketball league system, first tier level professional basketball league in Greece. It is run by the ...

team

Peristeri Peristeri (Greek language, Greek: Περιστέρι, meaning "pigeon/dove" in Greek) is a city and a suburban municipality in the western part of the Athens#Athens Urban Area, Athens agglomeration, Greece. With 133,630 inhabitants (2021 census), ...

. Boateng was sidelined in January 2012 with a calf injury. In 2012, he joined

Phantoms Braunschweig Phantom, phantoms, or the phantom may refer to: * Spirit (metaphysics), the vital principle or animating force within all living things ** Ghost, the soul or spirit of a dead person or animal that can appear to the living Aircraft * Boeing Phantom ...

of the BBL for the 2012–13 season. On 25 September 2013, Boateng signed with the

Los Angeles Lakers The Los Angeles Lakers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Lakers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division (NBA), Pacific Division of the Western Conference (NBA ...

. However, he was waived on 9 October. In late October 2013, he joined La Unión (Formosa) of the LNB. On 21 June 2015, he signed to play with ADA Blois Basket 41 in Blois. In August 2017, Boateng signed with Saint-Vallier Basket Drôme of the NM1 (French third division).

International career

Boateng made his debut for

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the List of European ...

against

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

in 2006, maintaining his place in the squad ever since. Boateng began 2011 in great form, winning the MVP of the tri-test series with the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

and

Nigeria Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It covers an area of . With Demographics of Nigeria, ...

. He followed this up with some solid performances in the London Prepares Olympic test event, averaging almost 6 points per game against world class opposition. Boateng was then selected to be part of the British national team that competed in the 2011 EuroBasket championship in Lithuania. His best game came at EuroBasket 2011 was a career-high 7 rebounds and 4 points, in 25 minutes against

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

References

External links

NBA.com ProfileEurobasket.com ProfileGreek Basket League ProfileGerman League profileESPN.com College StatsPhoto Gallery: Eric Boateng, High School Basketball Star
{{DEFAULTSORT:Boateng, Eric 1985 births Living people ADA Blois Basket 41 players Arizona State Sun Devils men's basketball players Austin Toros players Basketball Löwen Braunschweig players Basketball players at the 2012 Summer Olympics Basketball players from London Black British sportsmen British expatriate basketball people British expatriate basketball people in France British expatriate basketball people in Germany British expatriate basketball people in the United States English expatriate sportspeople in Argentina British men's basketball players Centers (basketball) Duke Blue Devils men's basketball players Élan Béarnais players English men's basketball players English people of Ghanaian descent Sportspeople of Ghanaian descent FC Mulhouse Basket players Greek Basket League players Idaho Stampede players La Unión basketball players McDonald's High School All-Americans Olympic basketball players for Great Britain Parade High School All-Americans (boys' basketball) People educated at Ernest Bevin College Peristeri B.C. players Saint-Vallier Basket Drôme players St. Andrew's School (Delaware) alumni 21st-century English sportsmen