ROGERS -- Austin Bivens was barely a dozen words into his signing day presentation of star forward SK Shittu when his voice cracked and his eyes welled with tears.
Bivens is the boys basketball coach at Providence Academy, where Shittu has been a starter all four years and helped the program earn back-to-back Oklahoma Christian School Athletic Association Class 3A state titles.
The relationship that Bivens has with Shittu goes far deeper than coach-player. Shittu has lived with the Bivens family ever since he stepped off a plane in 2013 from Lagos, Nigeria. Bivens told the story of the day Shittu arrived with his size 15 feet crammed into a size 12 shoe.
"I'm sorry," Bivens told a gathering of Providence Academy students and teachers, "this is supposed to be SK's moment."
Shuttu, a 6-foot-9 forward, said that Central Arkansas was the first school to extend him an offer when he was a sophomore. Since then, a host of other college programs sought his signature, including Houston, Tulsa, Wichita State, Southern Illinois and many others.
"I thought this was pretty cool a couple of years ago when colleges started calling the house," Bivens said. "In the past year I could not wait for this day to get here and get him signed so our phone would stop ringing at 9, 10, 11 o'clock."
Shittu said he will become the first member of his family to attend college, something he said he takes great pride in. He also said the family connection to the Conway area with the Bivens family played a small role in his decision. Both Austin and Lisa Bivens are graduates of Guy-Perkins High School and have family in the Conway area.
Last season, Shittu averaged 14.7 points, 12.2 rebounds and 2.5 blocked shots per game in leading the Patriots to a 23-win season. But the number that Bivens spoke most about was Shittu's 3.85 GPA.
"SK didn't just come here to play high school basketball," Bivens said. "He had a long-term plan and today is part of that plan."
Shittu said he felt a strong bond with the coaches at UCA and that led to his choosing the Bears over plenty of other suitors.
"With UCA it was just different," he said. "The coaches didn't just tell me want I wanted to hear. They speak to me about who I am and where I'm going to be. They have always been honest with me."
Also on Thursday, Patriots senior Andrew Howard signed a national letter of intent to play baseball at Crowder College in Neosho, Mo.
Howard was a mid-term enrollee at Providence last season. He was recruited as a middle infielder by Crowder, but could also see time in the outfield, said Patriots coach Brent McConnell.
Sports on 11/11/2016