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Lon Kruger, Sooners Land UNT Transfer Umoja Gibson

Gibson set freshman records and earned All-Conference USA at North Texas

John E. Hoover

Lon Kruger, Sooners Land UNT Transfer Umoja Gibson
Lon Kruger, Sooners Land UNT Transfer Umoja Gibson /
Umoha Gibson at North Texas
Umoha Gibson at North Texas

After losing two players to the transfer portal last week, Oklahoma finally reversed fortune and added one on Monday.

North Texas guard Umoja Gibson reportedly has decided to transfer to OU. Gibson announced the news on Twitter.

OU lost Corbin Merritt and Jamal Bieniemy to the transfer portal last week.

Gibson, a 6-foot-1, 183-pound sophomore, was voted second-team All-Conference USA in 2019-20 and was named NABC second-team All-District.

He started all 31 games and played a team-high 943 minutes for the Mean Green and averaged 14.5 points per game, which included 23 double-digit scoring games and a team-best 83 3-pointers.

He also led UNT with 44 steals and shot 39.4 percent from 3-point range.

As a redshirt freshman in 2018-19, Gibson started 23 of 33 games, played the second-most minutes on the team (956) and was named Conference USA All-Freshman team. He made a UNT and C-USA freshman record 99 3-pointers and led the Mean Green in scoring at 12.6 points per game.

He was also second on the team in steals and assists a freshman.

As a true freshman, Gibson suffered a knee injury in his second game of the season and took a medical redshirt.

At OU, Gibson could benefit from the NCAA's potential one-time transfer waiver (currently in the legislative pipeline) and play next season. If the rule doesn't pass, he'd need an exemption to play in 2020-21. Otherwise, Gibson would be eligible in 2021-22.

Gibson, from University High School in Waco, averaged 22.4 points and 11.1 assists as he led University to its first ever No. 1 state ranking.

According to his UNT bio, both his father and uncle played football at North Texas.

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John E. Hoover
JOHN E. HOOVER

John is an award-winning journalist whose work spans five decades in Oklahoma, with multiple state, regional and national awards as a sportswriter at various newspapers. During his newspaper career, John covered the Dallas Cowboys, the Kansas City Chiefs, the Oklahoma Sooners, the Oklahoma State Cowboys, the Arkansas Razorbacks and much more. In 2016, John changed careers, migrating into radio and launching a YouTube channel, and has built a successful independent media company, DanCam Media. From there, John has written under the banners of Sporting News, Sports Illustrated, Fan Nation and a handful of local and national magazines while hosting daily sports talk radio shows in Oklahoma City, Tulsa and statewide. John has also spoken on Capitol Hill in Oklahoma City in a successful effort to put more certified athletic trainers in Oklahoma public high schools. Among the dozens of awards he has won, John most cherishes his national "Beat Writer of the Year" from the Associated Press Sports Editors, Oklahoma's "Best Sports Column" from the Society of Professional Journalists, and Two "Excellence in Sports Medicine Reporting" Awards from the National Athletic Trainers Association. John holds a bachelor's degree in Mass Communications from East Central University in Ada, OK. Born and raised in North Pole, Alaska, John played football and wrote for the school paper at Ada High School in Ada, OK. He enjoys books, movies and travel, and lives in Broken Arrow, OK, with his wife and two kids.