Oklahoma nabs grad-transfer Aaron Calixte

Oklahoma added another piece to its backcourt with the commitment of grad-transfer guard Aaron Calixte, he told Rivals.com. A member of the Maine men’s basketball program for the past four years, Calixte is the Sooners’ second grad-transfer guard pick-up this spring, the first coming two weeks ago in the form of Pacific guard Miles Reynolds.

Calixte discussed his commitment further. "What stood out to me most was how much love Coach (Lon) Kruger was showing me from the beginning," he said. "Two days after they lost in the tournament, Coach Kruger and Coach (Kevin) Kruger were in my living room, so to see that happen really sparked my interest in them."

A native of Massachusetts, Calixte took an official visit to Norman this past weekend, a week after seeing Grand Canyon. Hearing overtures from DePaul, Missouri and Florida State, Calixte should bring an immediate scoring punch to OU, though he has improved as a playmaker throughout the years, an asset that can be leaned upon with the amount of wing and forward talent returning to the Big 12 program.

During his junior season, Calixte averaged close to 17 points by knocking down over 38 percent of his perimeter attempts. He bumped his scoring averages by close to ten points from his sophomore to junior years and saw his 3-point percentage improve by 12 points. He had season high scoring honors against Albany finishing with 25 points, and hit five 3s and finished with 17 points against Georgetown during the non-league portion of the season.

Oklahoma will enroll both Calixte and Reynolds in the fall, filling a giant void left over by one-and-done standout Trae Young, and was also hit with the out-transfer of sophomore Jordan Shepherd. The Sooners will see Rivals150 guard Jamal Bieniemy enroll, a 6-foot-4 guard that can play in a variety of lineups in the backcourt. Despite the major loss of Young, the Sooners remain in contention for a top-25 billing heading into the new college basketball season.