4/4/2020 basketball Edit

USF lands Mississippi St. transfer Prince Oduro

Russ Wood • BullsInsider

Managing Editor

USF got a big addition to its program Saturday when Mississippi State power forward Prince Oduro announced he will run with the Bulls.

He chose the Bulls from a final group that included Virginia Commonwealth, St. Bonaventure, New Mexico and conference rival Wichita State.

Prince Oduro goes up for a lay-in against Tulane. (Photo courtesy of Mississippi State Athletics)

"They recruited me the last time I transferred. They recruited me hard,” Oduro said. This time they recruited me even harder than the first time. So, that just showed me how invested in me and how much they believe in me. I wanted to go somewhere where the coaching staff really believed in me and everyone was on board, not just one or two coaches.”

Oduro, a Toronto, Canada native, played his freshman season at Siena, considered transferring to the Bulls in 2018 but picked the SEC school instead. He has two seasons of eligibility remaining. Per NCAA transfer rules, Oduro will have to sit one season but sources tell BullsInsider.com that he will apply for a waiver to begin play with the 2020-21 season.

A graduate of First Love Christian Academy (Washington, Pa.), Oduro was a teammate of Bulls guard David Collins. In fact, Oduro was the first player in First Love Christian Academy’s history to sign with a Division I program.

Listed at 6-foot-8, 250-pounds, Oduro has a big, strong frame and is a fairly skilled back-to-the-basket big man who knows how to carve out space with his body and can score with a variety of moves. He has long arms, runs very well and does not shy away from contact. With his combination of size, skills, athleticism, plus going up against NBA bound teammates in practice for the past two seasons, Oduro should claim a significant role in the Bulls front court.

“I have stuff to prove,” said Oduro. “I improved my game a lot the last two years and I want to be in a position where I could show everything I worked on these last two years.”

At Mississippi State, Oduro played in 21 games averaging four minutes, 1.2 points and 0.9 rebounds per game. He made 53.8 percent of his field goals.

Oduro started 27 games for Siena and made the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference All-Rookie team. He averaged 9.1 points and 5.1 rebounds per game. He left the program after it made a coaching change.