Meant to post this media release a few days ago...finally getting around to it.
TULSA, Okla. –– The Golden Hurricane men's basketball program has had a busy spring with the additions of eight transfers and a JUCO product. Miles Barnstable, Ade Popoola, Myles Rigsby, Tylen Riley, Doryan Onwuchekwa, Terrance Ford Jr., David Green, Carter Benton and Romad Dean have all been signed to next season's roster.
College basketball analytics expert Evan Miyakawa has Tulsa's eight player transfer class as the second-best this offseason among the American Athletic Conference teams. The website ranks Tulsa's overall transfer activity 37th in the NCAA.
"We're very excited about this year's team," head coach Eric Konkol said. "This spring has been a whirlwind of finding and signing these nine guys. There were a number of qualities that we were looking for from the very beginning. We wanted high-energy guys who are competitive, motivated and guys who we saw potential in. We feel as if the versatility, the athleticism, size and length of this group is a real positive and something that we're really excited about."
Barnstable is an incoming senior 6'2" guard from the University of St. Thomas, where he played this past season. As a junior, he was selected to the 2024-25 Summit League First Team and Newcomer Team. Barnstable started all 34 games and led the team in scoring, averaging 14.7 points per contest alongside 3.3 rebounds. He shot 44.3 percent from the floor and 34.2 percent on 3-pointers and 86.5 percent on free throws, breaking 20 points eight times and scoring a season-high 30 against North Dakota (Jan. 4).
Prior to St. Thomas, Barnstable played two seasons at UW-Whitewater. The Sheboygan, Wis., native was a WIAC All-Conference First Team selection both his years with UW-Whitewater and was named to the 2023-24 NABC All-District Second Team as a sophomore. In his freshman campaign, Barnstable led Warhawks to an NCAA Division III Final Four, upsetting five ranked teams and averaging 22 points in the tournament run. He averaged 17.0 points with shooting clips of 47.8 percent from the floor, 40.3 from 3-point range and 87.1 percent at the line in his two seasons.
"We are very excited about Miles," Konkol said. "We share the same home state, and he played Division III basketball in the same league that I played in. He's someone who I have followed his career, and to see what he did this past year at St. Thomas in a really good program is very impressive. He's a tough competitor, he's got long arms, he's athletic and he's really efficient. He is a hard worker and someone so motivated to continue to improve. We're excited about the versatility he provides, as well as his ability to play on the ball and off the ball and attack at all three levels."
A 6'5" guard from Moberly Area Community College, Popoola is ranked as the No. 7 JUCO transfer in the country by Rivals, and 11th best per JucoRecruiting.com. The incoming junior appeared in 54 games across two seasons with the Greyhounds, making 30 starts, all this past season.
He saw a massive jump in production from his freshman to sophomore years, going from 3.8 to 18.6 points per game. The St. Louis, Mo., native also pulled down 9.8 rebounds per contest and dished out 2.8 assists. He had shooting clips of 49 percent from the floor, 46.5 on 3-pointers and he knocked down 82.5 percent of his free throw attempts. He scored in double figures in 28 contests, 20 or more 12 times and recorded at least 30 in three games.
"Ade comes here with a proven skillset at a high level of junior college basketball," Konkol said. "He played at a tremendous program in Moberly, coached by Pat Smith. He experienced a lot of winning. He's got a beautiful jump shot and he can really rebound. He's got super long arms and we think he has great potential to add strength and weight. But he has a weapon of shooting the basketball. With his length, we also think he has the potential to be a high-level defender."
Rigsby is a 6'6" forward who spent the first two seasons of his career at Troy. The incoming junior averaged 11.8 points, 4.2 rebounds and 1.4 assists in 27.1 minutes per contest, making 64 appearances with 54 starts.
In his sophomore campaign, Rigsby played in 33 games and made 29 starts, playing the second-most minutes on the team and averaging 28.2 minutes per contest. His 12.2 points per game were second on the squad, with shooting clips of 45.8 percent from the floor and 79.8 percent from the free throw line. He recorded 4.1 rebounds, 1.4 assists and 1.5 steals while helping the Trojans to a 23-11 record, a Sun Belt Tournament Championship and Troy's first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2017.
"Myles Rigsby is an attacking big guard," Konkol said. "That's something we saw even in high school in Fort Worth. He was really well-coached at Troy by Scott Cross, also earning a share of last season's regular season championship in the Sun Belt before going on to win the conference tournament and earning a spot in the NCAA Tournament. He's a double-figure scorer and someone who has a tremendous skillset at getting fouled and making free throws. That is something we were really looking for, someone who can get to the paint and create for himself and others."
Riley is an incoming 6'3" junior guard who played his first two seasons at California Baptist in Riverside, Calif. He made 51 appearances with 13 starts for the Lancers, averaging 4.9 points, 2.0 rebounds and 1.4 assists.
As a sophomore, Riley played in 24 contests and started the final nine games of the season, averaging 7.5 points, 2.6 rebounds and 2.0 assists. He averaged 13 points per game as a starter and scored a career-high 25 points against Grand Canyon (Feb. 8) that pushed him into the starting lineup. He had seven double figure scoring games and eclipsed 20 points on two occasions.
Prior to Cal Baptist, Riley was a prep player at Durango High School in his hometown of Las Vegas. He was a three-time First Team All-Nevada selection, ranked the No. 2 player out of Nevada in his class and a Gatorade Player of the Year nominee.
"Tylen is someone who really improved as his college career went on at Cal Baptist, "Konkol said. "This past season, he was provided an opportunity and really took advantage of it. He was a double-figure scorer in the last third of that season. He had some really big games and moments in some key wins. He's a guy who can play on the ball, off the ball. He has long arms and big hands. We see him as a very good defender in a number of different positions. He is a guy who can play numerous roles for us."
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