OU Men's Basketball Adds Two In Late Signing Period

The Oklahoma men's basketball team has signed two players to letters of intent, OU coach Lon Kruger announced.

Edson Avila, a 6-foot-10, 255-pound sophomore at Seward County Community College signed on Thursday, while Frank Booker, a shooting guard from Augusta, Ga. signed on Friday.

Avila earned first-team all-region honors this past season after averaging 11.4 points, 5.5 rebounds and 1.1 blocked shots per game while shooting .580 from the field. He helped the Saints to a 25-8 record after they went 31-7 and finished third in the National Junior College Athletic Association Tournament his freshman season. Both squads won the Jayhawk Conference's West Division.

Originally from the Bronx in New York City, Avila was an AAU teammate of OU sophomore-to-be Isaiah Cousins for a year in high school. Cousins hails from Mount Vernon, N.Y.

"Edson is a mobile athlete who has a good feel on both ends of the floor," Kruger said. "He'll impact our club right away and fit in perfectly. He's got great awareness defensively and will do whatever he can to help his teammates on that end of the floor be better. Edson brings a great work ethic, enthusiasm and a team-first attitude, and is the type of player you love to have in your program. We're excited he's a Sooner."

Booker is a 6-foot-4, 190-pound guard who averaged 27.9 points and 4.1 assists per game as a senior this past year for 22-3 Westside High School. A first-team all-area selection and the Region 3-AA Player of the Year, Booker led the Patriots to the Region 3-AA title and to the second round of the Class AA state tournament.

A noted 3-point shooter, Booker drained 99 treys as a senior (4.0 per game) and 79 as a junior (2.8 per game). He shot .810 from the free throw line his senior season (171-for-211).

"Frank's reputation is as a 3-point shooter, but he's really just a good all-around basketball player who loves to work," Kruger said. "He has a great desire to make progress every day and his attitude about working hard and being a gym rat will fit in perfectly with the guys already in our program. He'll step right in and represent OU in a first-class way."