OU seniors Jalon Moore, Sam Godwin fulfill their promise

For OU senior Jalon Moore, this was the moment. This was the reason he chose to come back to Norman, to lead the Sooners.

It was announced the Sooners would be a No. 9 seed taking on No. 8 Connecticut. Head coach Porter Moser leapt to his feet. Moore would do the same a few seconds later, a little more subdued.

As much as Moore and Moser earned that moment together, the first person Moore turned toward? Fellow senior Sam Godwin.

The hurt never went away. They bonded through it. In one of the roughest moments, they made a vow to never be involved with something like that again.

Never again to be labeled the First Team Out like OU was for the 2023-24 season. It was mission accomplished.

But the journey is not over. The tournament is not the destination. It’s just another step, another step toward realizing a remarkable final chapter for their time as Sooners.

“So much for those guys. Jalon’s leg was like bouncing,” Moser said. “It was the same thing. I joked the two of us, we went this is a cruel joke. We wanted to be right out of the gate, out of the way. And to watch, I told the guys… it had to feel like Groundhog Day because I was coming in the locker room after tough losses and I’m like you guys there’s still a path.

“There’s still a path. We’ve just got to keep fighting and play better basketball and these guys believed and we’re playing our best basketball. We’re playing our best basketball. We’re playing the right way. And excited to go compete in this tournament.”

Moser told a story. Time didn’t make being the First Team Out any easier, but the resolve grew and grew with each day, each week.

Moore declared for the NBA Draft, and most knew it was just to be evaluated about what he needed to work on as a senior. But there had to be that moment when Moore told Moser that he would return, be the leader and captain.

“Just, I remember a moment I had with Jalon,” Moser said. “It was in Miami, I went down to watch when he put his name for the draft and he was doing workouts, and we sat there and he said, ‘Coach I’m coming back but we’ve got to get into the NCAA Tournament.’  I’m like, ‘Amen. Amen.’ And I said we’re gonna do it. We just both said we’re gonna do it.”

Moore, Moser and Godwin have earned this weekend. And everybody is hoping Godwin gets that chance. The former walk-on suffered a sprained MCL two weeks ago. His progress has been great, but that’s a tough thing to be able to recovery from so quickly.

Godwin has been that guy, cheering along and helping motivate and teach the other bigs. If nothing else, he’ll always have Sunday afternoon. 

“Special. That’s my brother, man,” Moore said. “Just to see what we had been through in the summer and last year and going through this year. It was special to share that moment with him. That’s my brother. Glad we got to share that moment.”

And Moore is able to get that moment because of a freshman. Weird how the dynamics can work out like that. Moore continues to be the unquestioned leader. But the best player? That has become freshman Jeremiah Fears.

You come at Fears, and Moore is right there to defend his point guard. Fears’ sensational closing run has helped put OU in this position. He wanted to give the seniors that chance. Now they all have it together.

“He’s played a huge role,” Fears told SoonerScoop about Moore. “Just being our leader and being another coach on the floor. He does a great job of keeping us together and helping us stay motivated and be prepared for the next game and the next play and keep possessions up throughout the whole game.”