Sooners Add Center Rick Issanza

NORMAN – Oklahoma men's basketball head coach Lon Kruger announced another addition to the Sooners' highly-anticipated freshman class in the signing of 7-1 center Rick Issanza.

A native of Kinshasa, Congo, Issanza will join Oklahoma from Bella Vista Prep in Scottsdale, Ariz. As a high school senior, Issanza averaged 11.0 points, 8.1 rebounds and 4.8 blocks while shooting 64 percent from the field.

A three-star recruit, Issanza is ranked as a top-40 center in the 2019 class by Rivals.

“Rick is a young guy with obvious size and abilities that adds a new dimension to our program,” said Kruger. “He's a rim protector with a lot of upside on the offensive end and we're excited for him to join the Sooner family.”

Issanza is the seventh member of the Sooners' 2019 signing class, joining guards De'Vion Harmon (Denton, Texas) and Alondes Williams (River Grove, Ill.), forwards Anyang Garang (Adelaide, Australia), Jalen Hill (Las Vegas, Nev.) and Victor Iwuakor (Sulphur Springs, Texas) and center Corbin Merritt (Tallahassee, Fla.).

The Sooners' recruiting class is listed in the top 20 nationally by Rivals (No. 14) and ESPN (No. 20). Both sites list Oklahoma's incoming class as the second best in the Big 12.

Oklahoma will pair its recruiting class with a roster that returns three starters from the 2018-19 squad. Kristian Doolittle and Brady Manek both ranked in OU's top three for points, rebounds and blocks this season while Jamal Bieniemy led the Sooners in both assists and steals.

Austin Reaves, a transfer from Wichita State, will also be eligible to play this season. The junior is a proven shooter who led the American Athletic Conference in 3-point percentage during conference play in 2017-18 by shooting at a .451 clip (37-for-82).

Players Mentioned

Jamal Bieniemy

Kristian Doolittle

Anyang Garang

De'Vion Harmon

Jalen Hill

Rick Issanza

Victor Iwuakor

Brady Manek

Corbin Merritt

Austin Reaves

Sponsors

University of Oklahoma Athletics