Men's Hoops Inks Pair Of Junior College Stars

April 16, 2001

NORMAN, Okla. - University of Oklahoma men's basketball head coach Kelvin Sampson announced today that junior college standouts Jason Detrick and Quannas White have signed national letters of intent to attend the University of Oklahoma next fall.

Detrick, who hails from Newport News, Va., was recently named a first-team All-American after averaging 23.0 points, 5.7 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 2.2 steals as a sophomore at Southwest Missouri State at West Plains. He shot .520 from the field and .800 from the foul line. The 6-4, 205-pound wing player was also named the Region 16 Most Valuable Player last year. His team posted an impressive 27-5 record last season, the school's best ever.

"Jason is an explosive wing who can really score," said Sampson. "His skill level is very high, but two things really stood out to me with Jason. He set a school record for charges taken this past year and he also set a school record for deflections in a season. Their program is similar to ours in the things they emphasize. Coach Tom Barr does a great job stressing the intangibles it takes to win games. I saw his team practice and after watching them I knew Jason would be an impact player in our program. I put him in the `winner' category. There are a lot of ways he'll help us win games. When I look at the impact wings we've had - guys like Corey Brewer, Nate Erdmann, Nolan Johnson and Eric Martin who stepped in immediately and had success - Jason is like them and will carry on that tradition."

"Jason is a scorer," said Barr, Detrick's coach at SMS-West Plains. "He broke all our scoring records here and he really knows how to get to the basket. He just has that knack for scoring. He's a tough kid and will get on the floor and dive for loose balls. He's a good kid and person, and is a great citizen."

White, a native of New Orleans, La., was a first-team all-conference and all-region selection at Midland (Texas) Community College last season when he averaged 17.0 points, 5.0 assists and 4.0 rebounds per outing. A backcourt mate of current OU guard Hollis Price at St. Augustine High School in New Orleans, White directed Midland to a 25-8 mark last year. The guard stands 6-1 and weighs 190 pounds.

"Quannas is a tremendous prospect," noted Sampson. "When I look at him I see a kid who is very similar to (former OU point guard) Michael Johnson. He's an excellent defender, is very mature and has a solid game. He's a good three-point shooter and ball-handler and he runs the team well.

"He's a true point guard," continued Sampson. "Quannas is a hard-nosed kid, he's tough and is a competitor. He comes from a great high school program at St. Augustine with head coach Bernard Griffin. I don't think Quannas' adjustment period will be as lengthy as those of most junior college kids because of the great job coach Junsie Cotten has done with him at Midland. A lot of the things we do at Oklahoma they're doing at Midland."

Said Cotten, "Quannas is an exceptional player. He can defend the ball very well, is a court leader and makes everyone around him better. He'll make teammates play hard and practice as hard as he does. Oklahoma is getting a special player, but they're getting just as good a person. His maturation over the last two years has been tremendous and has made him a better player. He's really dedicated himself to becoming a top-notch basketball player and it's worked out. He's a special kid and owns a special place in my heart."

Detrick and White join Jabahri Brown and Matt Gipson as members of the current recruiting class. Brown and Gipson both signed letters of intent last November. Brown, who practiced with the Sooners this semester, is a 6-11 center who played as a freshman at Florida International. Gipson is a highly touted 6-9 high school wing player from Burkburnett, Texas.

University of Oklahoma Athletics

Men's Hoops Inks Pair Of Junior College Stars

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