OU head coach Porter Moser confident in improved athleticism

The message remained the same from OU basketball head coach Porter Moser at Big 12 media days Wednesday. All summer, the third-year Oklahoma coach has talked about the team’s improved athleticism.

He didn’t even need to get asked about it in Kansas City. Moser’s opening statement once again hammered it home about how excited they are about the improvements they believe they’ve made.

“I think just the biggest take away from our summer workouts and our fall workouts is that we’re definitely longer and more athletic, which enables us to play faster,” Moser said. “We just have not simply been very athletic in the best conference in the country. I’m excited about some of the length we’ve brought in. We’ve brought in some speed from the guard spots.

“I think that’s the first thing you’re going to see different about our Oklahoma team is our athleticism.”

It’s another opportunity for Moser to try to hit a home run from the transfer portal. OU has been full of hits and misses in Moser’s initial two years in Norman.

The inconsistency is something Moser is hoping will become a thing of the past, anchored by sophomores Milos Uzan and Otega Oweh.

“Our approach this year has been about where our feet are planted to get over that bump, that line, to get into the tournament,” Moser said. And our goal is not to get into the tournament, our goal is to get into the tournament to give us an opportunity to win a championship.”

Hugley a huge addition

The one whisper you might have about this OU team is John Hugley. Look, he was a big-time addition for OU through the portal from Pittsburgh. But if the Sooners really want to run up and down, Hugley has to be ready for that.

It’s his challenge. It’s the challenge the OU staff has had in the last four months since the team arrived in June.

“He gives us a huge physical presence inside. We’ve got to get him – our standard for him is to be the best conditioned athlete he’s ever been in his life,” Moser said. “We’ve watched him score 15 (points) and eight (rebounds) in the ACC.

“He’s a really good passer down low. He’s a guy that can carve out space. A lot of teams switch in this league. We got hurt last year when teams switched on to our 5 and physically down low. It’s going to be very hard to switch with him. He is a very, very power player that carves out space don’t low. That’s what we hope for him. He gives us a different inside presence.”

Uzan taking the keys

It’s the nature of today’s college basketball age that a sophomore can now be considered the heart and soul of a program.

That is absolutely going to be the case with Uzan, as well as Oweh. Uzan is going to be running the show, and Moser isn’t afraid of how Uzan will respond to that immense challenge.

“Milos was steadfast the whole time in the portal or the whole time when that window was open, man, he wanted to come back,” Moser said. “He wanted to come back. His goals as to where we wanted to take this program, and then he came back and he said what it was.

“He was going to be right out of the gate as a sophomore going to be our captain, and he’s been that, taken that leadership, and he’s ran with that leadership.”

Portal window better but…

Moser has been very vocal about the transfer portal window. Not about the portal itself, but about how big the window had been.

It has now shrunk from 60 days to 45, but that’s not quite enough in Moser’s eyes.

“That’s been something, but the portal window, it’s better,” Moser said. “It went from 60 to 45, and I’ll be outspoken. I don’t know if any of the other coaches said it, but I know we were hoping for 30 so you know. So you know where you’re at. You know if someone is leaving or if they’re staying or someone is going to get in the portal.”

From when that window opens until it closes, it’s a 24/7 whirlwind.

“You’re laying your head on that pillow every night on retention,” Moser said. “But also you’re laying your head on that pillow every night on filling spots.”