Georgetown Transfer Center Julius Halaifonua Commits to Oklahoma State

PORTAL TRACKER

Having a Kiwi center worked well for the Oklahoma City Thunder, and now the Cowboys are giving it a try.

Georgetown transfer 7-footer Julius Halaifonua committed to Oklahoma State on Monday. Out of Auckland, New Zealand, Halaifonua averaged 9.5 points, 4.4 boards and 1.3 assists a game last season for the Hoyas, his second with the program.

Halaifonua made his way to the states by way of the NBA Global Academy in Australia. 247Sports considered him the No. 60 player in all of the 2024 recruiting class.

He’s represented New Zealand at various age-level events. He took part in the 2025 FIBA U19 World Cup, averaging 10.5 pints, 5.4 boards, two assists and 1.6 blocks across seven games. Halaifonua and the Kiwis took silver at the 2023 U17 Oceania Championship, where he averaged nine points and five boards. He earned a bronze medal at the 2022 U16 Asia Championship, putting up 12.8 points and 9.5 boards a contest. At the 2022 U17 World Cup, Halaifonua averaged 12 points and 7.5 rebounds a game.

He was injured in his first season with the Hoyas after just six games, where he averaged three points and two boards in about 13 minutes a contest before breaking out as a sophomore.

He started 28 of the 32 games he played in this past season. He scored in double figures 13 times including four games in the 20s.

He scored a career-high 22 points in a game against Saint Peters, a game he also ripped down nine boards and stuffed two shots in.

He had a 21-point, 10-rebound double-double against Villanova in a win at the Big East Tournament, and in a game at Marquette in December, Halaifonua had 21 points, six rebounds and four assists.

From an advanced analytic perspective, Halaifonua ranked 61st nationally in KenPom’s Offensive Rating/Possession Usage (ORtg). A ORtg of 100 is about the average, but Halaifonua’s was 130 this past season, per KenPom. He also ranked in the Top 100 nationally in 2-point percentage, hitting 65.2% of his 2-point shots.

Halaifonua becomes the fifth player the Cowboys have grabbed out of the portal joining 6-6 combo guard Luke Bogavac (North Carolina), C-USA Defensive Player of the Year Kashie Natt (Sam Houston), promising young point guard Jacob Walker (Sam Houston) and stretch forward Andrija Grbovic (Arizona State).

Halaifonua fills roster spot No. 13 of 15 for the Cowboys.