Porter Moser hilariously stresses need to avoid looking ahead in SEC using colorful analogy
For three years, Porter Moser had to get ready for a Big 12 schedule. The league ranked No. 1 in conference efficiency each season, according to KenPom, and he’s now getting Oklahoma ready for an entirely new challenge.
The 2024-25 season will be the Sooners’ first in the SEC as they, along with rival Texas, make the long-awaited move. Preparation for the conference schedule will be different for Moser and OU as they get ready to face new teams in new places.
The way he’s approaching it, Moser – as he’s said since his days at Loyola Chicago – is trying to keep his focus on the task at hand. The SEC ranked fourth in KenPom efficiency last year, but by adding two top-50 teams, the league will be even stronger in 2024-25. That’s why Moser, true to form, compared it to a junior-high art class.
“I know it sounds [like] coaches’ speak, but it’s daunting,” Moser said on SEC Now Tuesday night. “The Big 12’s been crazy the last couple years, so there’s been no bottom. That’s what I look at the SEC right now is there’s no bottom. I’m looking at all these teams, and obviously, somebody’s gotta finish at the bottom. But you’ve almost got to have like you’re in that sixth-grade art class back in grade school and they had those colored construction papers, and you put it over your schedule and you don’t start looking at the next five or six games.
“When you’re a young coach, you’d have that exercise with your assistants. You’d go through the schedule and you’re like, ‘Alright, win, loss, win, win, win win.’ You’d kind of project [it]. You can’t do that in these games because you’re gonna drive yourself crazy. This schedule in the SEC is gonna be daunting for everybody. The venues, we’ve been studying the venues, watching them. Great fan bases. But it’s gonna be a wild ride in the SEC with how strong this league is.”
OU missed the NCAA Tournament in all three of Porter Moser’s first seasons in Norman and opted out of the NIT after last year’s snub. The Sooners went to work on the recruiting trail this offseason, though, to get ready for life in the SEC, landing 10 commitments – including four high school recruits.
The crown jewel of the high school class was Jeremiah Fears, the No. 71 overall player from the 2024 cycle, according to the On3 Industry Ranking, a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies. On the transfer front, Oklahoma brought in former High Point guard Duke Miles, who came in as the No. 71-ranked player in the On3 Industry Transfer Rankings.