Tulsa’s Frank Haith Adds Three Student-Athletes to Basketball Signing Class
4/15/2020 2:24:00 PM | Men's Basketball
TULSA, Okla. –– The University of Tulsa basketball program added three newcomers to the defending American Athletic Conference Champions roster today for the 2020-21 season, it was announced by the AAC's Coach of the Year Frank Haith.
Tulsa's signing class includes one four-year transfer, one junior college transfer and two high school seniors. The three signees today –– Rey Idowu, Austin Richie and Peyton Urbancic –– join Keshawn Williams, another prep senior who signed with the Golden Hurricane last November, to this year's signing class.
"We're excited about these young men joining our program. Together with our November signing of Keshawn, we've added a class that brings tremendous scoring from outside and inside. Guys that are gym rats, but also good character student-athletes who fit in well at The University of Tulsa," said Haith.
A four-year college transfer, the 6'9" Idowu (E-doe-woo) comes to Tulsa following two seasons at Illinois State University.
The junior-to-be had two-year averages of 3.6 points and 2.9 rebounds for the Redbirds, while shooting 55 percent from the field in 63 career games. In the 2019-20 season, Idowu averaged 15.7 minutes in 30 games with 14 starts. He scored at a 4.4 clip and grabbed 3.2 rebounds per game, while shooting .529 from the field. Idowu had a high game of 16 points against Illinois-Chicago and 8 rebounds vs. UCF.
"Rey is mature beyond his years on and off the court. He's similar to the player he'll be following at Tulsa, Martins Igbanu. He's a blue-collar guy with high energy who rebounds and finishes around the basket," said his former AAU coach with Pro Holmes Sports Academy, Aaron Holmes.
Idowu (Melbourne, Fla.) spent a postgraduate season at Clearwater (Fla.) Academy before going to Illinois State. He played his senior year of high school at Holy Trinity in Melbourne, Fla., where he averaged 15 points and 13 rebounds per game.
"I am really excited to get Rey into our program and love what he adds to our team and the energy and enthusiasm he plays with on the court. He comes in with an understanding of what it's like competing in Division I basketball," said Haith. "He played a lot of meaningful minutes at Illinois State. At 6-9, Rey's addition gives us a strong core in the post with both Manny and Josh returning."
Richie, a 6'6" forward, was an NJCAA Third-Team All-American, while leading his Triton (Ill.) Junior College team to a 26-7 record this past season. He was also named the Region IV Player of the Year, while earning first-team all-district accolades as well. Richie averaged 16.4 points, 4.5 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 1.3 steals. The sharpshooter converted 51.5 percent of his shots from the field and had a 44.9 three-point percentage, while knocking down 85-percent of his free throws.
"Austin is coming off an All-America season at Triton College where he was one of the best shooters in all of junior college basketball. He adds maturity and has experience at the Division I level having started his career at Northern Illinois," Haith said. "This year at Triton really helped in his development. Not only was he able to develop his perimeter game, but his overall game took a big step forward which made him one of the more coveted transfer targets in the country."
Richie (Glenwood, Ill.) ranked third in the nation for 3-pointers made, while converting 120-of-267 treys and also ranked 36th nationally for three-point field goal percentage. He had 26 double-figure scoring games, including 11 games of 20 points or more, and had career-highs of 28 points and 15 rebounds. Richie began his collegiate career at Northern Illinois University, where he played during the 2018-19 season.
"Austin was one of the best shooters in the country and makes shots consistently from a distance. He's a catch-and-shoot guy who can really stretch the floor," said Junior College Coach Steve Christiansen. "Austin has a great appetite for winning. He's competitive, a great teammate and a tremendous kid who comes from a great family."
The second of Tulsa's two high school signees for this year is the 6'6" Urbancic from First Baptist Academy in Naples, Florida. A three-year starting guard, Urbancic led the Lions to a 22-8 record his senior season as he averaged 17.1 points, 6.8 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 1.2 steals. He converted 45 percent of his shots from the field, 37 percent from 3-point range and 77 percent from the free throw line as a senior.
"Peyton can really shoot the basketball. He has all the tools to be a great shooter at this level and plays the game with a lot of passion, which we love," said Haith. "Peyton has great size and fits exactly what we were looking for as we evaluated our needs in the program. Like all of these guys, Peyton lives in the gym. The game of basketball is very important to him and I am excited to watch him grow in our program."
Urbancic was named Mr. Basketball by the Southwest Florida Association of Basketball Coaches (SFABC), earned first team all-state and Southwest Florida Class 2A District Player of the Year honors as selected by the Florida Athletic Coaches Association (FACA).
He was also one of 11 statewide finalists for the Florida Dairy Farmers Class 2A Player of the Year award and is one of three finalists for Collier County Athlete of the Year award.
"Peyton is a very versatile and deceptively athletic player who played positions 1 thru 4 for us. He's a multi-dimensional offensive threat and has really good deep range on his three-point shot," said Scott Stewart, the First Baptist Academy head coach. "Peyton is an ideal type of student-athlete – a great student, has high character and is a gym rat."
In his career, Urbancic averaged 11 points and grabbed 4.3 rebounds in 75 career contests. He turned in career shooting percentages of 46.4 from the field, 38.0 from 3-point range and 73.1 from the charity stripe.
APRIL SIGNEES
Rey Idowu F 6-9 240 Jr-TR Melbourne, Fla. / Illinois State
Austin Richie F/G 6-6 225 Jr-JC Glenwood, Ill. / Triton College
Peyton Urbancic G 6-6 185 Fr-HS Naples, Fla. / First Baptist Academy
NOVEMBER SIGNEE
Keshawn Williams G 6-3 175 Fr-HS Chicago, Ill. / Bloom Township HS
Players Mentioned
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