Rivaldo Soares making the most of one OU season

Rivaldo Soares didn’t come to OU to sit on the bench. But for the better part of the season, that’s exactly how it worked out.

A starter at Oregon, Soares’ role was turning into something different in the eyes of OU head coach Porter Moser.

Soares was going to be the spark, the spark of the second wave coming off the bench. The joke all season has been that OU has eight starters.

But that wasn’t always easy for Soares to accept. He reached the point, though. And once he did, Soares took off.

“Here’s the thing about Waldo and what I’ll remember from Waldo and hope our relationship lasts for the rest of our lives,” Moser said. “He went through struggle. Went through struggle and was down. He was frustrated here. He was starting at Oregon. At one point, he just let it go and just became this ultra-positive thing.

“I hope he carries that lesson with him the rest of his life. It’s a lesson for everybody in life. Sometimes, just let it go and focus on what you can do. He started focusing on being positive. All the sudden, his game went like this (up) and his value. He started thinking about winning.”

Now Soares actually is a starter. He has been among the first five in the last two games. The same passion he showed off the bench is still there to begin the game. It’s not really about the first five, Soares is usually among the last five, too.

It’s hard to believe Soares started conference play with 10 points in the initial three games. Because anybody who has watched this team knows Soares has been the most consistent player for the Sooners for a long time.

In Soares’ last nine games, he has averaged 13.5 points and has grabbed at least five or more rebounds six times.

“It has been awesome to see him do that,” Moser said. “He has literally been our most consistent player for a long time. Definitely been one of our more energetic, passionate players. Man, he’s been valuable to us.

“I still think he’s not 100 percent. He won’t give me the satisfaction or dissatisfaction to say that because he’s like, what do you mean? I know he’s going to get better and better in this stretch run and be healthy.”

There was that scary moment three weeks ago when Soares turned his left ankle in the final minutes at Baylor. He missed one game, the first game he has ever missed because of injury.

Soares refused to miss more than that and has been as laser-focused as it gets down the stretch. There’s something about knowing these are your final games.

He has mentioned before the dream is the NCAA Tournament. Nobody on the OU roster has been dancing, except Moser coaching at Loyola (Chicago).

No ankle injury is going to keep him away from finishing his career in style.

“Once I get in the game, it’s just I don’t really think about it unless I have an awkward step or something,” Soares said. “But once the game gets rolling, I’m not really thinking about my ankle. Sometimes I even jump and I’ll feel it and I’ll be like, ‘Ooh, I forgot.’ Getting through the day-to-day is getting better. And just playing through it.”

Senior days are way different in the portal era. Soares, obviously, wasn’t even a member of the Sooners last season.

But he has made his one year in Norman count. And he’d love to go out with a bang and earn win No. 20 for OU with a solid outing vs. Cincinnati. 

“Being my last year, I’ve been grateful for it,” Soares told SoonerScoop. “Especially with the group of guys that we have and the coaches. It just feels like a family. And it feels like I picked the right place to be for my final year. It went by the quickest but just grateful for it all.”