SAN ANTONIO — First-year head coach Steve Henson announced Wednesday that Jhivvan Jackson (Bayamón, Puerto Rico/Euless [Texas] Trinity HS) and Adrian Rodriguez (Tulsa, Okla./Union HS) have signed National Letters of Intent on the first day of the early signing period. The duo will join the Roadrunners for the 2017-18 season.
"The coaching staff and I are very excited about this signing class," Henson said. "Jhivvan and Adrian are a couple of guys that we saw, loved and knew that they would be terrific additions for us. Jhivvan is someone that can really, really play. He can score and create plays for his teammates. Jhivvan is tough, very committed and is a guy that can give us a real boost on the offensive end. His ability to make shots and make plays all over the floor will be a real benefit to us.
"Adrian is a guy that his teammates love and his opponents respect because he plays extremely hard. He has a really good feel for the game, has great skills and can make plays with the ball. He will help us get up and down the floor and can start the break if he gets a rebound, and we love how much he rebounds. Adrian's skills to stretch the floor, his toughness and the kind of teammate that he is are all things that really excite us about him."
Jackson is a 6-foot guard and is a four-year member of the varsity squad at Trinity High School in Euless for head coach Mark Villines, where he has helped lead the Trojans to the UIL State Tournament all three seasons. A three-time all-district performer, Jackson averaged 22.0 points, 5.0 rebounds, 5.0 assists and 2.8 steals per game last season en route to District 7-6A Offensive Player of the Year and Texas Association of Basketball Coaches (TABC) 6A All-Region I honors.
He was the All-District 7-6A MVP and a TABC 6A All-Region I pick as a sophomore following All-District 6-5A second-team honors as a freshman while playing alongside current Indiana Pacers star Myles Turner.
A native of Bayamón, Puerto Rico, Jackson is a member of the U18 Puerto Rico National Team and he starred for RM5 Elite on the Nike Youth Basketball League circuit this summer.
Meanwhile, Rodriguez is 6-foot-7 forward at Union High School in Tulsa, Okla., for head coach Rudy Garcia. The talented big man has helped lead the squad to three straight regional and area titles along with a spot in the 2016 state tournament.
Last season he averaged 12.8 points and 8.2 rebounds per game to earn honorable mention all-state and all-metro honors from the Tulsa World as he helped the squad to a 22-5 record and No. 5 ranking in the final state poll. Rodriguez led a short-handed Union team to a third-place finish at last season's annual Tournament of Champions by averaging 13 points and 11 rebounds in the event to garner a spot on the all-tournament team. He closed the tournament with 14 points and 14 rebounds in the third-place game.
In addition, Rodriguez starred with the Oklahoma Run PWP team on the AAU circuit.
