<body><div>The most recent offseason addition to Oklahoma's basketball roster for its inaugural SEC season has put pen to paper.<a href="https://247sports.com/Player/jeff-nwankwo-46110664/">Jeff Nwankwo</a>, the nation's No. 2 junior college prospect this cycle according to 247Sports, signed with the Sooners, the program announced midday Friday. Nwankwo's signing comes <a href="https://247sports.com/college/oklahoma/article/jeff-nwankwo-commits-to-oklahoma-sooners-basketball-231803382/">nine days after the Oklahoma City native announced his commitment to OU out of Cowley College.</a>"Jeff is a powerful athletic wing who plays with extreme toughness," Oklahoma coach Porter Moser said in a release. "He has a great journey, starting his college career as a DI football player at Tulane and now playing basketball in the SEC. Jeff plays with a competitive edge every time he steps on the court. I love his shot-making ability, recording 68 made 3-pointers last season, and relentless rebounding effort."Nwankwo is the fifth of six offseason transfer pickups to officially sign with <a href="https://247sports.com/college/oklahoma/">Oklahoma</a>, joining <a href="https://247sports.com/college/high-point/">High Point</a> transfer guard <a href="https://247sports.com/Player/duke-miles-46101163/">Duke Miles</a>, <a href="https://247sports.com/college/long-beach-state/">Long Beach State</a> transfer wing Jadon Jones, <a href="https://247sports.com/college/dayton/">Dayton</a> transfer guard <a href="https://247sports.com/Player/kobe-elvis-46094916/">Kobe Elvis</a> and <a href="https://247sports.com/college/fairfield/">Fairfield</a> transfer guard <a href="https://247sports.com/Player/brycen-goodine-46047031/">Brycen Goodine</a>. The Sooners have yet to announce the signing of <a href="https://247sports.com/college/alabama/">Alabama</a> transfer big <a href="https://247sports.com/Player/mohamed-wague-46086327/">Mohamed Wague</a>, but that's expected to come be made official soon.<a href="https://247sports.com/college/oklahoma/join/?promo=QUICKLINKS">***JOIN SOONERS ILLUSTRATED NOW AND GET 30% OFF AN ANNUAL MEMBERSHIP</a><a href="https://247sports.com/college/oklahoma/join/?promo=QUICKLINKS">***</a>The 6-foot-6, 210-pound Nwankwo comes to Oklahoma after spending the last two seasons at Cowley College in <a href="https://247sports.com/college/kansas/">Kansas</a>, where he transferred prior to the 2022-23 season. Nwankwo began his career as a three-star wide receiver at <a href="https://247sports.com/college/tulane/">Tulane</a>, where he saw limited opportunities during his freshman season in 2021. Following that season, Nwankwo opted to transfer in hopes of pursuing a basketball opportunity; basketball was his true passion, while he picked up football late during his career at Putnam City North because it was the best path toward a scholarship opportunity.At Cowley College, Nwankwo averaged 10.7 points and seven rebounds per game during his first season with the program. He missed much of the fall semester and early portion of the season due to injury before starting 16 of the Tigers' final 19 games of the year.<figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=1IXybu_0tMIBAfP00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=1IXybu_0tMIBAfP00" width="620" height="320" ><figcaption>(Photo: Kristy Ehart / USA TODAY NETWORK, USA TODAY Sports)</figcaption></figure>Nwankwo turned a corner late in the year, with two 20-point performances during a four-game stretch in mid-to-late February, including a 22-point, 12-rebound effort against Butler Community College. <a href="https://247sports.com/college/oklahoma/article/analysis-what-oklahoma-basketball-is-getting-in-juco-transfer-jeff-nwankwo-231837437/">That finish to his first season at Cowley proved to be a launch point for his breakthrough sophomore campaign, when he averaged 18.6 points, 7.6 rebound, two assists and 1.9 steals per game while earning NJCAA first-team All-America honors.</a>Nwankwo helped lead Cowley to a 28-6 overall record, shooting 48.9% from the field, 37% from 3-point range and 73.8% from the free-throw line — improving on his 42.9% shooting, 34.8% clip from beyond the arc and 66.7% efficiency from the stripe in his first season. Nwankwo finished the season on an absolute tear. Over the final six weeks of Cowley's season, he averaged 24.6 points per game on 51.7% shooting while draining 46.9% of his 3-point attempts, and he added 7.2 rebounds, 1.3 assists and 2.4 steals per game in his last 11 contests.Nwankwo was briefly committed to Cal this offseason before reopening his recruitment and landing at Oklahoma, where he returns to his home state with a chance to make an impact on the Sooners' new-look roster entering the SEC."That's the one thing he kind of talked about: 'Man, I get a chance to go play at my dream school,' but I know he'll want to get back and be part of that environment," Cowley coach Donnie Jackson told Sooners Illustrated last week. "The Sooner crimson has always kind of been his thing, so when the opportunity arose to take a visit, he was like, 'I'm all in.'"Nwankwo joins a roster that, along with six incoming transfers, features two freshman signees in four-star forward <a href="https://247sports.com/Player/kuol-atak-46136349/">Kuol Atak</a> and three-star guard <a href="https://247sports.com/Player/dayton-forsythe-46135550/">Dayton Forsythe</a>. The Sooners also return center <a href="https://247sports.com/Player/sam-godwin-46132691/">Sam Godwin</a>, forward <a href="https://247sports.com/Player/luke-northweather-46132565/">Luke Northweather</a>, redshirt freshman wing <a href="https://247sports.com/Player/jacolb-cole-46102361/">Jacolb Cole</a> and forward <a href="https://247sports.com/Player/yaya-keita-46080586/">Yaya Keita</a>. The roster is expected to be rounded out by the return of starting forward <a href="https://247sports.com/Player/jalon-moore-46103577/">Jalon Moore</a>, who declared for the NBA Draft last month while retaining eligibility and leaving the door open for a return to OU for his senior season. Moore has not yet officially announced his return but has until May 29 to withdraw from the NBA Draft pool.</div></body>

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No. 2 JUCO prospect Jeff Nwankwo signs with Oklahoma basketball

The most recent offseason addition to Oklahoma's basketball roster for its inaugural SEC season has put pen to paper. Jeff Nwankwo, the nation's No. 2 junior college prospect this cycle according to 247Sports, signed with the Sooners, the program announced midday Friday. Nwankwo's signing comes nine days after the Oklahoma City native announced his commitment to OU out of Cowley College.

No. 2 JUCO prospect Jeff Nwankwo signs with Oklahoma basketball

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