DEKALB, Ill. – The Northern Illinois University men's basketball program welcomed three more additions for the 2020-21 season on Friday (May 8) as head coach Mark Montgomery announced the signing of Tavon Jones (Linden, N.J./Linden/Odessa College), Zool Kueth (Gallatin, Tenn./Gallatin/Pratt CC) and Adong Makuoi (Edmonton, Alberta/TRC Academy/Daytona State College) to National Letters of Intent. 

"We are very pleased to have Tavon, Zool and Adong joining our program," said Montgomery. "These are high character young men, and good students, we believe that each of them will make a positive impact on our program."

Jones joins the Huskies from Odessa (Texas) College where he was a Western Junior College Athletic Conference all-league performer this past season, averaging 13.7 points and 4.8 rebounds per game as a sophomore. As a freshman in 2018-19, the 6-foot-3 guard helped the Wranglers to a 28-7 overall record and a trip to the Elite Eight of the NJCAA Division I National Tournament. Jones scored 1,766 career points in high school and was a two-time First Team All-State honoree by NJ.com at Linden High School.

"Tavon is an athletic guard, a two-way player who is very good on both ends," said Montgomery. "He is a hard-nosed, tough defender, a good athlete who likes to get to the basket and draw fouls, he shot nearly 180 free throws this past year, and he can score at all three levels."

Kueth averaged 14.5 points, 4.9 rebounds and 1.7 blocks per game as a sophomore at Pratt (Kan.) Community College, earning All-Kansas Jayhawk Community College Conference West Second Team honors, and was named the Pratt CC Male Athlete of the Year. Kueth played his freshman season at Tallahassee (Fla.) Community College in 2018-19, where he was limited to 17 games due to a broken ankle. The 6-foot-7 Kueth was the Sumner County Player of the Year as a senior at Gallatin High School in 2018 and also earned Second Team All-Midstate from The Tennessean. 

"Zool is a versatile, athletic, combo forward who can play both inside and out," said Montgomery. "He has good fundamental skills, a good basketball IQ and can definitely stretch the defense with his three-point shooting, he made nearly 70 threes this past year."

Makuoi comes to DeKalb from Daytona State College where he started all 30 games as a sophomore in 2019-20, averaging 6.6 points, 5.4 rebounds and 1.5 blocks per game while shooting 69.8 percent from the field, earning Second Team All Mid-Florida Conference honors. The 6-foot-9 Makuoi began his collegiate career at Palm Beach State, where he averaged 8.1 points and 5.6 rebounds per contest in 2018-19, helping the Panthers in a 21-win season. Makuoi prepped at The RISE Centre Academy in Brantford, Ontario and was selected to play in the 2018 BioSteel All Canadian High School All-Star Game.

"Adong is big, strong post player with good athleticism," said Montgomery. "He is a rim protector who brings a defensive presence and is also a very good finisher around the rim on the offensive end of the floor."

Jones, Kueth and Makuoi will each have two seasons of eligibility remaining at NIU. The trio gives the Huskies five signees for the upcoming season as they join Chinedu Okanu (Gary, Ind./Bowman Academy/Vincennes University) and Kaleb Thornton (Bolingbrook, Ill./Bolingbrook/Iowa Western CC) who signed with the Huskies in April. NIU is coming off a 2019-20 campaign that saw the Huskies win a share of the MAC West Division title and finish with 18 victories, the sixth-most wins in school history.