University of Oklahoma letterman Quannas White has joined the University of Houston Men’s Basketball program as an assistant coach, Head Coach Kelvin Sampson announced Tuesday.

White — whose first name is pronounced kuh-WAHN-us — is no stranger to Sampson, playing for him for two seasons during their time together at Oklahoma from 2001 to 2003. He also entered the professional ranks following his playing career as the Sooners’ graduate assistant in 2003-04.

“Quannas is a great fit for our program. He brings an intensity and a toughness to it. As a college player, he took his teams to a Final Four and Elite Eight and two Big 12 championships, and he did that with his leadership and toughness. He embodied those things as a player,” Sampson said. “I have observed Quannas as a coach through the years. He is a good coach and outstanding teacher, and our players will appreciate how hard he pushes them. Quannas will command respect and develop our players into the best they can be.”

“Houston is a family environment, and the opportunity to work for a man I played for is amazing. I was a part of some special things with Coach Sampson at Oklahoma with the Final Four and Big 12 championships, and I know we know have the chance to do the same things here,” White said. “Coach Sampson is an outstanding coach, and his teams have gotten better every year. To compete in the American Athletic Conference and work for a man I have tremendous respect for is a great opportunity.”

White joined the Cougars after serving as an assistant coach at WKU during the 2016-17 season. There, he helped lead the Hilltoppers to 15 wins and played key roles in the recruitment of Mitchell Robinson, Josh Anderson and Pancake Thomas, who gave the Hilltoppers a n ational Top-10recruiting class.

Prior to that, White served for two seasons as an assistant coach at Tulane from 2014 to 2016.

White led the Louisiana Dynasty AAU program and worked as a private basketball trainer for eight seasons from 2005 to 2014. During his time with that program, he guided the Dynasty to more than 30 tournament titles and developed several players who competed at the NCAA Division I level.

Before becoming a coach, White was an award-winning student-athlete at Oklahoma from 2001 to 2003. He helped lead the Sooners to the 2002 NCAA Final Four as a member of the Big 12 All-Newcomer Team after posting 7.6 points and 4.7 assists per game and was named to the NCAA Tournament All-West Regional Team.

One year later, White led Oklahoma to the 2003 NCAA Elite Eight with 8.6 points and 4.1 assists per game.

In addition, he was the starting point guard for the Big 12’s undefeated All-Star team that played a foreign tour in Scandinavia against teams from Sweden, Norway and Denmark in 2002.

With the completion of his collegiate career, White served as a graduate assistant for the Sooners during the 2003-04 campaign and received his bachelor’s degree in sociology in 2004.

White, who is a native of New Orleans, averaged 17 points and won a state championship as a senior at St. Augustine High School, There, he was a backcourt teammate of Oklahoma All-American Hollis Price, who currently serves as the Cougars’ director of player development.

Before joining Oklahoma, he played for two seasons at Midland Junior College, where he earned All-Conference honors as a sophomore.

White was selected by the Yakima Sun Kings in the 2003 Continental Basketball Association (CBA) draft and had stints in the NBA D-League with the Austin Toros (2005-06) and the Rio Grande Valley Vipers (2007-08). He also played professionally in France and Germany.