DETROIT – Detroit added another big body to its frontcourt for next season as head coach Ray McCallum announced the signing of 6-11, 220-pound Ugochukwu Njoku (Lagios, Nigeria/Oakland Community College) to a National Letter of Intent. Njoku – known as NJ around the Oakland campus - will have two years of eligibility at Detroit.

“He is an athlete and a guy who can rebound and block shots and he comes from a winning program,” said McCallum. “He is also a straight-A student and he will be in the mix for playing time as we build depth in the frontcourt.”

Njoku earned Michigan Community College Athletic Association (MCCAA) Eastern Conference Defensive Player of the Year and Second Team honors after averaging 8.8 points, 9.2 rebounds and 4.6 blocks per game. He shot 51% from the field and posted 139 blocks in just 30 games.

“We are losing the best defensive frontcourt in the Horizon League with Eli (Holman) and LaMarcus (Lowe) and he definitely brings a defensive presence to the floor,” added McCallum.

He ended his sophomore season second in the league in blocks and eighth in rebounding. He had some great performances on the season including a 23-point, 15-rebound effort in a win over Schoolcraft, 20 points and 13 rebounds against Macomb and 20 points with 13 rebounds versus Wayne County. He pulled down 10+ rebounds 13 times on the year, while scoring in double digits on 11 occasions.

He helped Oakland Community College to a runner-up finish at the NJCAA District 9 Championship Tournament and a No. 8 ranking in the nation as the Raiders were 26-5 on the season and 16-2 in the MCCAA Eastern Conference.

As a freshman, Njoku tallied 6.2 points, 8.1 rebounds and 2.2 blocks, while shooting 56% in 25 games. A dedicated student-athlete, he was a MCCAA Academic All-Conference selection and a National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Academic All-American during the 2010-11 campaign.

Originally from Nigeria, he is currently studying Software Engineering and his perfect 4.0 GPA during his first year led him to earn the NJCAA's Pinnacle Award for academic excellence.

He is the third player to sign with the Titans this spring joining 6-4 guard Gabriel Dos Santos (Sarasota, FL./Impact Basketball Academy) and 6-8 forward Jermaine Lippert (Munich, Germany/Sheridan College). UDM also signed 6-8 Brent Calhoun (Indianapolis, IN/Warren Central) and 6-10 Akinyemi Solanke (Lagos, Nigeria/Arkansas Baptist JC) during the early signing period back in November.

The Titans are coming off a season in which they made the NCAA Tournament by winning the Horizon League Championship. Detroit finished the year 22-14 overall, its second 20-win season in the past three years.