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Local High School Star, Two Four-Year Transfers Sign with Tulsa
4/14/2021 2:15:00 PM | Men's Basketball
TULSA, Okla. –– The University of Tulsa signed three student-athletes to national letters-of-intent increasing its incoming class to six, it was announced today by Golden Hurricane Head Coach Frank Haith. Two four-year college transfers – Sam Griffin and Jeriah Horne – and one high school senior – native Tulsan Anthony Pritchard – will continue their education and basketball careers at Tulsa.
Horne returns to Tulsa where he played two seasons before competing last year at the University of Colorado, while Griffin comes to Tulsa from the University of Texas-Arlington and Pritchard starred at Tulsa's Webster High School.
A Tulsa, Okla., native, Pritchard, was a three-year starter at Webster High School, averaging 22.9 points, 6.9 rebounds and 4.6 assists his senior season. He helped lead the Warriors to the Class 4A semifinals while earning Green Country Conference Player of the Year.
"Anthony is a special young man and his story of perseverance and resilience is one that hits you right in the heart. I am so excited to have Anthony staying home and coming to The University of Tulsa," said Haith, "We have known Anthony for a number of years, as he has been on our campus for camps and clinics. He is a perfect fit here at TU, being a tremendous student, wonderful young man and tremendously talented basketball player."
"Anthony is a great kid. He is very competitive with a strong will to win and compete, "said Scott Bowman, Webster head coach, "Anthony strives to get better every day on the court. His future is bright at The University of Tulsa."
Pritchard was named first-team all-conference his junior and senior seasons. During his junior season, the guard averaged 19.4 points, 5.4 rebounds, 5.4 assists and 3.8 steals. He connected on 50-percent of his shots from the field. His 686 points during his sophomore campaign was a school single-season high.
"Anthony is an explosive point guard that plays the game with passion and tremendous efficiency. He can score at all three levels and can put in buckets in bunches," continued Haith, "He has a great feel for the game and works tirelessly at his craft with the desire of being great. I believe those traits will be contagious for our team. I am excited for Anthony's future at TU, and I know our community is as well."
Griffin, a 6'3" combo guard, comes to Tulsa after two seasons at UT Arlington where he averaged 11.2 points in 57 games for the Mavericks. In his career, he shot 41.8-percent from the field, 36.8-percent from three-point range and 79.5-percent from the charity stripe.
During the 2020-21 season, Griffin was fourth the in the Sun Belt for three-pointers made in conference games with 46. He tallied 20+ points in three consecutive games with a career-high 28 at Arkansas State (Jan. 29), 23 at Arkansas State (Jan. 30) and 23 at Louisiana Monroe (Feb. 5).
"Sam will just be a sophomore for us next season, but he already has two productive years in college under his belt with the extra year being granted," said Haith. "It was important for us to get an older, immediate impact guard in our program to complement the great high school guards that we have signed in this recruiting class."
The Miami, Fla. native played two seasons at Westminster High School where he eclipsed 1,000 career points. He was a Class 4A first-team all-state selection his senior season, while also earning first-team all-county distinction. He averaged 23 points per game his senior season in leading Westminster to a 4A state championship.
"Sam's strength is in his ability to shoot the basketball at a very efficient level. He made 60 three-pointers in just 26 games last year and shot it at a nearly 40 percent clip from three as well, "continued Haith. "He also showed he could handle the basketball and be a great decision maker. Like the other five guys in our recruiting class, Sam is a hard worker. His game has improved every year, and that doesn't happen by accident. Sam is going to come in and just keep getting better and better and is going to have a fantastic career on and off the court at TU."
Horne returns to the Hurricane after a spending his senior season at Colorado. The Overland Park, Kan. native spent three seasons at Tulsa, sitting out a transfer season in 2017-18 before playing his redshirt sophomore and junior seasons for Tulsa.
Last season, Horne helped lead Colorado to an NCAA tournament appearance, as the Buffs defeated Georgetown in the opening round before losing to Florida State. Horne finished the season second on the team in scoring with a 10.8 average per game. He shot 45.6-percent from the field, 39.7-percent from behind the arc and 90.6-percent from the free throw line.
"Jeriah's return is a huge boost. Our fans know Jeriah and have a great appreciation for him. They know what he brings back to our program. Jeriah is a great leader and is about all the right things. He wants to win and he does the little things that are needed to win, "said Haith, "He led Colorado in rebounding this past season, he was second on their team in scoring and shot nearly 40 percent from three and over 90 percent from the foul line. Jeriah makes our team better immediately and was a significant part of our championship success in 2020 and a huge part of Colorado advancing to the NCAA Tournament this past year."
In his two seasons at Tulsa, Horne averaged 10.6 points and 5.0 rebounds while appearing in 63 games with 23 starts. As a junior, he was third on the team in scoring with 11.3 points and ranked second in rebounding with 5.8 boards per game. Horne scored a career-high 28 points in a triple-overtime thriller against Colorado State.
"The thing I'm most excited about for Jeriah is that he getting to put his final college stamp back here at TU, his alma mater, "continued Haith, "He will have a chance to finish up his playing career at Tulsa and have a chance to leave a lasting legacy for himself and our program."
Horne, Griffin and Pritchard join Tim Dalger, Gavyn Elkamil and Sterling Gaston-Chapman in the Hurricane 2021 signing class.
2020-21 Tulsa Basketball Signing Class
Name Pos. Ht. Cl-Exp Hometown /Previous School
November Signees
Tim Dalger F 6-7 So-JC Fort Lauderdale, Fla./Independence CC
Gavyn Elkamil G 6-5 Fr-HS Pittsburg, Kan./Link Year Prep
Sterling Gaston-Chapman G 6-5 Fr-HS Wichita, Kan./Campus HS
April Signees
Anthony Pritchard G 6-3 Fr-HS Tulsa, Okla./Webster HS
Sam Griffin G 6-3 So-TR Miami, Fla./ UT-Arlington
Jeriah Horne F 6-7 Gr-TR Overland Park, Kan./Univ. of Colorado
Horne returns to Tulsa where he played two seasons before competing last year at the University of Colorado, while Griffin comes to Tulsa from the University of Texas-Arlington and Pritchard starred at Tulsa's Webster High School.
A Tulsa, Okla., native, Pritchard, was a three-year starter at Webster High School, averaging 22.9 points, 6.9 rebounds and 4.6 assists his senior season. He helped lead the Warriors to the Class 4A semifinals while earning Green Country Conference Player of the Year.
"Anthony is a special young man and his story of perseverance and resilience is one that hits you right in the heart. I am so excited to have Anthony staying home and coming to The University of Tulsa," said Haith, "We have known Anthony for a number of years, as he has been on our campus for camps and clinics. He is a perfect fit here at TU, being a tremendous student, wonderful young man and tremendously talented basketball player."
"Anthony is a great kid. He is very competitive with a strong will to win and compete, "said Scott Bowman, Webster head coach, "Anthony strives to get better every day on the court. His future is bright at The University of Tulsa."
Pritchard was named first-team all-conference his junior and senior seasons. During his junior season, the guard averaged 19.4 points, 5.4 rebounds, 5.4 assists and 3.8 steals. He connected on 50-percent of his shots from the field. His 686 points during his sophomore campaign was a school single-season high.
"Anthony is an explosive point guard that plays the game with passion and tremendous efficiency. He can score at all three levels and can put in buckets in bunches," continued Haith, "He has a great feel for the game and works tirelessly at his craft with the desire of being great. I believe those traits will be contagious for our team. I am excited for Anthony's future at TU, and I know our community is as well."
Griffin, a 6'3" combo guard, comes to Tulsa after two seasons at UT Arlington where he averaged 11.2 points in 57 games for the Mavericks. In his career, he shot 41.8-percent from the field, 36.8-percent from three-point range and 79.5-percent from the charity stripe.
During the 2020-21 season, Griffin was fourth the in the Sun Belt for three-pointers made in conference games with 46. He tallied 20+ points in three consecutive games with a career-high 28 at Arkansas State (Jan. 29), 23 at Arkansas State (Jan. 30) and 23 at Louisiana Monroe (Feb. 5).
"Sam will just be a sophomore for us next season, but he already has two productive years in college under his belt with the extra year being granted," said Haith. "It was important for us to get an older, immediate impact guard in our program to complement the great high school guards that we have signed in this recruiting class."
The Miami, Fla. native played two seasons at Westminster High School where he eclipsed 1,000 career points. He was a Class 4A first-team all-state selection his senior season, while also earning first-team all-county distinction. He averaged 23 points per game his senior season in leading Westminster to a 4A state championship.
"Sam's strength is in his ability to shoot the basketball at a very efficient level. He made 60 three-pointers in just 26 games last year and shot it at a nearly 40 percent clip from three as well, "continued Haith. "He also showed he could handle the basketball and be a great decision maker. Like the other five guys in our recruiting class, Sam is a hard worker. His game has improved every year, and that doesn't happen by accident. Sam is going to come in and just keep getting better and better and is going to have a fantastic career on and off the court at TU."
Horne returns to the Hurricane after a spending his senior season at Colorado. The Overland Park, Kan. native spent three seasons at Tulsa, sitting out a transfer season in 2017-18 before playing his redshirt sophomore and junior seasons for Tulsa.
Last season, Horne helped lead Colorado to an NCAA tournament appearance, as the Buffs defeated Georgetown in the opening round before losing to Florida State. Horne finished the season second on the team in scoring with a 10.8 average per game. He shot 45.6-percent from the field, 39.7-percent from behind the arc and 90.6-percent from the free throw line.
"Jeriah's return is a huge boost. Our fans know Jeriah and have a great appreciation for him. They know what he brings back to our program. Jeriah is a great leader and is about all the right things. He wants to win and he does the little things that are needed to win, "said Haith, "He led Colorado in rebounding this past season, he was second on their team in scoring and shot nearly 40 percent from three and over 90 percent from the foul line. Jeriah makes our team better immediately and was a significant part of our championship success in 2020 and a huge part of Colorado advancing to the NCAA Tournament this past year."
In his two seasons at Tulsa, Horne averaged 10.6 points and 5.0 rebounds while appearing in 63 games with 23 starts. As a junior, he was third on the team in scoring with 11.3 points and ranked second in rebounding with 5.8 boards per game. Horne scored a career-high 28 points in a triple-overtime thriller against Colorado State.
"The thing I'm most excited about for Jeriah is that he getting to put his final college stamp back here at TU, his alma mater, "continued Haith, "He will have a chance to finish up his playing career at Tulsa and have a chance to leave a lasting legacy for himself and our program."
Horne, Griffin and Pritchard join Tim Dalger, Gavyn Elkamil and Sterling Gaston-Chapman in the Hurricane 2021 signing class.
2020-21 Tulsa Basketball Signing Class
Name Pos. Ht. Cl-Exp Hometown /Previous School
November Signees
Tim Dalger F 6-7 So-JC Fort Lauderdale, Fla./Independence CC
Gavyn Elkamil G 6-5 Fr-HS Pittsburg, Kan./Link Year Prep
Sterling Gaston-Chapman G 6-5 Fr-HS Wichita, Kan./Campus HS
April Signees
Anthony Pritchard G 6-3 Fr-HS Tulsa, Okla./Webster HS
Sam Griffin G 6-3 So-TR Miami, Fla./ UT-Arlington
Jeriah Horne F 6-7 Gr-TR Overland Park, Kan./Univ. of Colorado
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