Oklahoma basketball: Third transfer addition cuts open scholarships in half

A little over a week ago, the Oklahoma basketball roster had six open scholarships available. With a third transfer addition over the weekend, that number is now down to three.

On Saturday, Sooner head coach Porter Moser earned a commitment from former Oregon guard Rivaldo Soares. The 6-foot, 6-inch guard brings size, athleticism and experience to the OU backcourt, one of the needs Moser and his coaching staff set out to address this offseason.

Soares announced his commitment to OU via a Twitter message on Saturday.

The Oregon transfer also adds valuable depth to the Sooners’ guard position where he will be joined by sophomore returnees Milos Uzan and Otega Oweh as well fellow 2023-24 transfer Javian McCollum, who committed to Oklahoma last week from Sienna.

Soares made an official visit to OU over the weekend. He obviously like what he observed, as did the Sooners. It also is no coincidence that newly hired OU assistant coach Armon Gates came from Oregon, where Soares played the last two seasons. Soares will one one year of eligibility remaining.

Soares averaged 7.2 points and 3.6 rebounds per game last season at Oregon. He shot 47 percent from the field, and nine times during the 2022-23 season he scored at least 10 points.

Before transferring to Oregon for the 2021-22 season, Soares played a couple of years at South Plains (Texas) Junior College. While there he averaged 15 points and five rebounds a game.

The addition of the Boston native gives the Sooners three new transfers. John Hugley IV, a 6-foot, 9-inch addition from Pittsburgh is the other addition Moser has added in the past week. Oklahoma lost six players from this past season’s roster to the transfer portal.

OU is looking to improve on its sub-par 15-17 overall record and 5-13 mark in the Big 12 this past season.