ORU Men's Basketball Adds Three Players

The Oral Roberts men's basketball team received letters of intent from three players as part of the NCAA's spring signing period. Denell Henderson, Adrion Webber and Jabbar Singleton will join the Golden Eagles for the 2013-14 season.

The trio will join Dederick Lee and Bobby Word, both of whom signed with ORU during November's early signing period bringing the total class up to five. Henderson (Connors State College) and Webber (Carl Albert) will both transfer to ORU from junior colleges, while Singleton, Lee and Word will all come straight from high school.

"I'm excited about these three guys that we signed in the spring," said ORU coach Scott Sutton. "I think we needed to recruit some players who have some experience at the college level. We addressed a need for an inside scorer in Denell and we signed a very good shooter in Adrion. Both of those young men have played at the junior college level and are a little bit older and more mature. Then we signed a terrific point guard in Jabbar."

Denell Henderson – 6-7 – 230 – Demascus, Ark. (Guy-Perkins HS/Connors State College)

One of two transfers in the signing class, Henderson is a 6-7 power forward from Connors State College where he helped his team to a combined 46-18 record over two seasons. He earned first team all-region and first team all-conference honors while leading his team to the national tournament. As a sophomore at Connors State, Henderson averaged 11 points and seven rebounds per game, shooting 55 percent from the field. Prior to college, Henderson helped his Guy-Perkins HS team win a state championship. He was an all-state selection and was chosen to play in the all-star game. Henderson was also a member of the GPHS baseball program and was recruited by UCA, Murray State and North Texas.

Sutton on Henderson: "Denell is a powerful player who is very good with his back to the basket. He played for a great junior college program and a for a great junior college coach in Bill Muse. With the loss of Damen (Bell-Holter), it was important for us to go out and get an inside player who could have an immediate impact on next year's team."

Adrion Webber – 6-5 – 220 – Muskogee, Okla. (Muskogee HS/Carl Albert State College)

An Oklahoma native, Webber played high school ball at Coweta and Muskogee before heading to Carl Albert for the past two years, where he averaged better than 15 points and four rebounds per game. He was a third team all-conference selection at Carl Albert as well. Prior to his time in Poteau, Webber averaged 12.8 points and 7.7 rebounds as a senior at Muskogee High School, earning all-conference and all-district honors. Off the court, Webber was a regional champion high jumper. Gardner-Webb, Omaha, South Dakota and Abilene Christian were among the other schools recruiting Webber.

Coach Scott on Webber: "Adrion is a big guard who can really shoot it. With the loss of Warren (Niles), who was a terrific shooter, we felt like we needed to sign someone who could come in and be a threat from the perimeter and Adrion certainly is."

Jabbar Singleton – 6-0 – 185 – New Orleans, La. (Brother Martin HS)

Singleton will come to ORU from Brother Martin High School in New Orleans, where he was a two-sport star playing basketball and football. On the hardwood, Singleton led his team to a 29-7 record as a senior, scoring 21 points in the quarterfinals. He was an all-district selection in both sports, and earned MVP and all-state honors as well as the coaches' award, Bob Conlin Award and was named the Impact Player of the Year. Singleton averaged 12 points, five steals and seven assists per game. As a football player, he rushed for 1,446 yards and 16 touchdowns. Between the two sports, Singleton was also recruited by UNO, Marquette, Louisiana Tech, Florida International and Grambling.

Coach Scott on Singleton: "Jabbar is a winner. He's a powerful point guard and is very strong. He is a great football player who is tough and a great leader. We are very excited about Jabbar."