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University of South Alabama head men's basketball coach Richie Riley announced that Isaiah Moore, Kevin Samuel, Owen White and Elijah Ormiston have signed grants-in-aid and will join the program in the fall.

 

Moore, a 6-0 guard at Division II Franklin Pierce, averaged 22.6 points, 5.4 assists and 4.9 rebounds while shooting over 50 percent from the floor as a senior. Moore was named the Northeast 10 Player of the Year and was selected to the Division II All-America team. The guard led the conference in scoring and finished second in assists and had eight games last season scoring at least 25 points. The Temple Hills, Md. native was also named to the Northeast-10 All-Tournament Team in 2019-20, the Northeast-10 Conference All-Rookie Team in 2018-19 and was voted to the Northeast-10 Rookie of the Week twice his freshman season.

 

As a sophomore, Moore averaged 13.0 points, 3.8 assists and 3.8 rebounds per game while shooting over 50 percent from the floor for the second time in three years. In his freshman season, Moore appeared in 29 games, making 20 starts while averaging 9.2 points, 2.4 assists and 1.9 rebounds per game.

 

Head Coach Richie Riley on Moore

"Isaiah Moore plays with incredible pace and tempo. His basketball IQ is off the charts, with the speed and skill to match. We expect him to have a huge impact on our program both on and off the court."

                                                                                                                                                                                                               

Samuel, a 6-11, 255-pound center spent last year at Florida Gulf Coast where he averaged 11.5 points, 9.7 rebounds, 2.9 blocks, 1.1 steals and was voted the ASUN Defensive Player of the Year. Samuel is just one of three active NCAA players to have 1,000 career points and 1,000 career rebounds. The Barbuda native ranked fifth nationally in both blocks and field goal percentage.

 

Prior to FGCU, the former four-star started nearly 100 games for TCU and posted 21 double-doubles for the Horned Frogs. During his junior season, Samuel averaged 8.8 points, 7.8 rebounds and 1.7 blocks per game. The center was named Big 12 Player of the Week following his performance at Oklahoma State where he scored 18 points, six rebounds and seven blocks. Samuel finished the season shooting 62.5 percent from the floor and was also named the MVP of the Hall of Fame Classic. As a sophomore, Samuel averaged 10.0 points, a team-best 8.4 rebounds and 2.7 blocks per game. The 2.7 blocks per game ranked first in the Big 12 and 11th in the NCAA. His 85 blocked shots ranked second-best in TCU history. In his freshman season, the center averaged 7.4 points, 6.9 rebounds, 2.1 blocks per game and shot 66.5 percent from the field, the second-best in the Big 12 and the second-best for a season in TCU history.

 

The 6-foot-11 center was rated the No. 7 recruit in Texas and No. 8 nationally at his position by 247Sports.com out of high school.

 

Head Coach Richie Riley on Samuel

"Kevin Samuel is one of the best true post players in the country. An elite rim protector w/ incredible IQ. He's so good defensively, his offensive game is overlooked. In the post, he has a very good skill set and great hands. Thrilled to add him to our family."

 

White, a 6-6 guard that spent the past four seasons at Division II Michigan Tech, averaged 17.6 points, 5.9 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 1.0 steals per game. The Rhinelander, Wisc. native was named the GLIAC Player of the Year in back-to-back seasons. White was named to the GLIAC All-Defensive team in each of the past three seasons. He has twice been a member of the GLIAC All-Tournament team, and twice been a first-team All-GLIAC honoree. His 1,542 career points currently ranks 12th on the Michigan Tech all-time chart.

 

During the 2020-21 season, White was on the NABC Honors Court, NABC All-American, First Team All-Midwest District, GLIAC First Team, All-GLIAC Defensive Team, and CoSIDA Academic All-America Third Team. As a junior, the guard averaged 21.2 points, 6.4 rebounds and 2.4 assists to win his first GLIAC Player of the Year award.

 

Head Coach Richie Riley on White

"Owen White is the ultimate winner and a guy who impacts the game. Offensively, he's a 3-level scorer with elite feel. Defensively, he wants the challenge to guard great players. I've been really impressed with his passion for basketball and what goes into winning."

 

Ormiston, the third Division II transfer to sign with South, played at Concordia-St. Paul last season and averaged 16.9 points and 6.3 rebounds per game as a freshman. The 6-foot-8 forward scored 10 or more points in 22 games and scored at least 20 in 12 contests. The Easley, S.C. native scored a career-best 30 points on 12-of-18 shooting against Sioux Falls.

 

Head Coach Richie Riley on Ormiston

"Elijah Ormiston is just scratching the surface of who he can be as a player. I'm so excited to coach him and see the impact he will have on our team. He's 6'8 and brings incredible versatility to our program."

 

For more information about South Alabama athletics, check back with www.usajaguars.com, and follow the Jaguars at www.twitter.com/WeAreSouth_JAGS. Season tickets for all Jaguar athletic events can be purchased by calling (251) 461-1USA (1872).

Join the South Circle, the unrestricted giving option of the University of South Alabama Athletics.  Contributions to the South Circle directly support all 17 sports in addition to various support programming. For more information on how you can join visit: http://jaguarathleticfund.com/give

Original source can be found here.