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April 26, 2010

NORMAN, Okla. - University of Oklahoma head men's basketball coach Jeff Capel announced today that University of New Orleans transfer Carl Blair and junior college All-American C.J. Washington have signed paperwork to become Sooners.

Blair is a 6-2, 205-pound freshman point guard who averaged 9.2 points, 4.4 rebounds and 3.7 assists per contest this season for a University of New Orleans program that is moving from Division I to Division III status.  He played in all 30 games, made 29 starts and shot .395 from the field, .333 from 3-point range (23-for-69) and .819 from the free throw line (95-for-116).  In 18 Sun Belt Conference games, he averaged 10.6 points, 4.3 boards and 3.6 assists while shooting .425 from the field, .383 from long distance (18-for-47) and .833 from the charity stripe (65-for-78).

Over UNO's final eight games, Blair averaged 13.8 points and 4.6 assists while going 11-for-27 from behind the arc (.407).  He scored in double figures in seven of those last eight contests and posted a career-high 23 points Feb. 6 against Arkansas State.

Blair became just the second player in school history to record a triple-double when he racked up 13 points, 10 rebounds and 11 assists in a Dec. 5 win over Houston Baptist.  Only eight other Division I players registered a triple-double last year.

Because of UNO's transition to Division III, Blair will be eligible to play for the Sooners next season.

"Carl had a good freshman year," said Capel.  "He's a kid we looked at out of high school, where he was a big-time winner.  He led his team to a state title his senior year and then went and won at prep school.  He brings good size to the point guard position.

"It's really unfortunate what's happening at the University of New Orleans.  But because of that situation, we're getting an experienced guy who played a lot last year and had some really good games.  He will give us perimeter depth and can help stabilize the point guard position, which is what we need.  Carl is a great kid and we're excited about him."

Washington, a 6-7, 210-pound sophomore forward at Connors State College in Warner, Okla., was a first-team junior college All-American and led his squad to a 30-4 record and an appearance at the national junior college tournament in Hutchinson, Kan.  He recorded 25 double-doubles in his 32 games, 14 consecutively at one point.

Washington averaged 19.3 points, a school-record 13.0 rebounds and 1.8 blocks per game on the season.  He was named the National Junior College Athletic Association Region II Player of the Year and was also the Region II Tournament MVP (averaged 17.7 points and 18.0 rebounds).  A native of Stringtown, Okla., Washington ranked fifth in the country in rebounds per game and 32nd in scoring.  He broke the single-game school rebounding record with 26 in the Region II Tournament semifinals against Murray State College.

As a freshman, Washington helped the Cowboys to a 28-9 record and to the NJCAA Final Four by averaging 12 points and eight rebounds.

"C.J. comes from a winning program at Connors State," said Capel.  "He's been very well coached and will provide needed frontcourt depth for us.  He rebounded at a very high level last year and he's also a guy who can shoot the basketball out to 15 feet.  C.J. should help us down low.  We're happy he signed with us."

Blair and Washington join high school seniors Cameron Clark, Tyler Neal and T.J. Taylor, and junior college sophomore Nick Thompson as members of OU's newcomer class.  Clark, a 6-6 wing from Sherman, Texas, is rated No. 30 nationally by both Rivals.com and Scout.com.  Neal is a 6-7 forward from Putnam City West High School in Oklahoma City who is the reigning state player of the year.  Taylor, a 6-3 combo guard from Denison, Texas, is rated No. 78 nationally by ESPN.com and No. 91 by Scout.com.  Thompson helped his College of Eastern Utah squad to a third-place national finish.