Rey Idowu is transferring to Tulsa from Illinois State with two years of eligibility remaining. The 6-foot-9 and 240 pound forward chose the Golden Hurricane for several reasons.

“I feel really good about the relationship I’m building with Coach (Frank) Haith and love his plans for my development to help the program stay successful in the future,” he told Inside Tulsa Sports. “The school is in a great city and has a great business program. I want to be a part of something special and maintain the winning culture Coach Haith has built there.”

Under current NCAA rules, Division-1 transfers must sit out a year, but Idowu plans to apply for a waiver.

“As far as the waiver goes, I may be able to get it, but nothing is set in stone yet,” he explained.

Before Illinois State, Idowu spent a postgraduate season at Clearwater Academy in Florida to boost his recruitment. He had flown under the radar as a high school senior at Holy Trinity in Melbourne, Florida, despite averaging 15 points and 13 rebounds per game and leading the Tigers to a 21-7 record.

During the summer before heading to Clearwater, Idowu played AAU basketball for Team Speights and saw his recruitment take off. He quickly picked up offers from Fort Wayne, Illinois State, Cornell, New Hampshire, Louisiana Tech, Canisius, Lafayette, ETSU, Arkansas Little Rock and Richmond.

Idowu also received strong interest from Wichita State, Saint Bonaventure, Boston, Princeton, Yale, Rice, Columbia, UAB, USF, Northwestern, Creighton and others before eventually signing with the Redbirds.