All about keeping the confidence for OU basketball

No matter what some may say, Big 12 basketball is a different animal and has been for OU. Roller coaster, grind, all those words apply.

And it’s easy to start feeling down on yourself. It’s easy to start to see that confidence just begin to slip away, let the doubt creep in.

It’s the job of the coaching staff to not let that happen. OU head coach Porter Moser gets that, understands that, embraces that.

It was all on display in the dramatic 84-82 overtime Bedlam win at Oklahoma State on Saturday. Because it wasn’t easy. And guys like Javian McCollum and Otega Oweh were indeed riding that wave.

Moser never gave up on them. They didn’t give up on themselves. And they were all a part of one of the most meaningful OU basketball moments in recent memory.

How to watch

OU (19-8, 7-7) at No. 8 Iowa State (21-6, 10-4)
When: 7 p.m. Wednesday
TV: ESPN+

“It’s a big part of coaching,” Moser said. “They got to know you have confidence in them, and it’s that confidence—it’s the same thing with Otega. Put my arm around Otega at halftime, and I said, ‘Hey, I’m just going to start Waldo this half, but you’re going to make some big plays.’ I put my arm around him and said, ‘You’re going to be key for us.’ I thought he had his best half in a long time, and it was great to see.

“But, like Javian, just continue to shoot. You can’t let your best shooters get hesitant, so it’s got to come from me. I want to let them know, ‘Man, keep stepping in. Good shots? You got to take them.’”

McCollum, of course, played hero with the game-winner. But Oweh had just as big of a role after a two-point first half and being benched to bounce back with 16 points and looking like himself again.

Everybody played a role in Bedlam, and Moser was glad to see the old Oweh return.

“He wasn’t sped up,” Moser said. He’s not forcing things, and he looked more like he was just not too sped up. Even that spin move that he made. He was deliberate with it. Wasn’t out of control. He caught it, got him on his hip, turned, spinned, and then he changed speeds. I thought he was more deliberate, not forcing things, and that’s what was really good to see.”

Small ball Sooners?

The injury to John Hugley has led to some let’s try this stuff type of lineups. Some of them have really worked.

There’s not a lack of trust with either Sam Godwin or Luke Northweather, but experimenting with Jalon Moore at center hasn’t been a bad thing for OU.

“It’s been good for us, Jalon at the five, for a number of reasons,” Moser said. “We like that option, have that option. Sam in there, Luke in there. Then Jalon at the five. Since John has been out, we’ve experimented with it. We like the look.

“We have it if we need it. Jalon is just the best. He’s not like, oh, I have to be on the perimeter. Jalon is like, it’s wherever you need me. Jalon at the five was a good lineup for us against Oklahoma State.”

Soares gonna press on

It’s accurate to say Rivaldo Soares wasn’t 100 percent at OSU. It’s also accurate to say Soares’ left ankle is not 100 percent going into Ames.

But he just doesn’t care. It simply does not matter.

“He’s not 100 percent, but he won’t let you know that,” Moser said. “I thought he was terrific. Thought he didn’t — sometimes when you miss a game, you come back and you try to do things you can’t do. I thought he was super solid, didn’t force things. But he just gives you a such a presence of confidence. Like, his presence exudes confidence to all the guys. They looked at him knowing that he’s back and they were excited and I thought he was I thought he was great.”

The update on Hugley following meniscus surgery is good. But we’re still a ways away from Hugley returning to action or even being considered back.

“We’re following John’s progress. He’s doing great,” Moser said. “He’s probably a little ahead of schedule, if I had to say so. But we’ll monitor his conditioning and everything to bring him back when he’s healthy. We miss him and we look forward to getting him back. But I thought Luke was really good. His confidence looked totally different than the previous two games. We’ve just gotta keep building on that progress.”

Final word

“It’s just posturing. People trying to posture their league. It’s just posturing. Why wouldn’t you? I don’t blame anybody for posturing. Just watch it on TV. Live through it. You just see it. So I don’t blame any league for posturing, trying to do it. Hey, we’re all trying to posture to get into this tournament. But your eyes don’t lie. It’s not even close. This league is unbelievable, night in and night out, venues, everything. So that hasn’t changed. What happens is you go through it, you start beating each other up and that’s when the posturing comes in.” – Moser on Big 12 being ‘overrated’