State of Oklahoma basketball under Porter Moser

It’s a year of no excuses coming up for Oklahoma basketball and head coach Porter Moser. Because if there’s another non-tournament season in Norman, it could very well be the final one for Moser.

Year No. 2 saw the Sooners take a step back. After just missing out on a berth in the NCAA tournament for the 2021-22 season, OU didn’t even earn an invite to the NIT after going 15-17 last season.

Moser had his mantra. As soon as the season was over, this is what he emphasized.

Athleticism. Shooting/scoring. Toughness. Length.

There were rumors of Moser looking around and a report flat-out said Moser wanted to leave OU to head to Notre Dame. Moser emphatically shot down those rumors when asked by SoonerScoop.com in February.

His focus is on getting OU to the promised land. OU is his home, he said. It’s time to get this thing rolling again.

“We’ve got to develop and recruit, bring the guys in,” said Moser back in March. “We’ve got to get better at the roster building. We’ve got to get better at all this development this summer. We’ve got to get stronger. We’ve got to get better at our atmospheres. We’ve got to get better at a lot of different things.

“But to sell it, we’re at the University of Oklahoma. We’ve got a lot of great things. I’m disappointed with the outcome, disappointed with the results. But I’m not one iota, you know, stumbling. My momentum of where we’re going to go, to sell the belief of where we’re going with that, I’ve never had a problem with that. I know my passion is where we’re going. Disappointed, but not detracted.”

A look at what Moser and company have been doing in the last couple of months.

Returning

OU has a quintet coming back to Norman in guard Milos Uzan, guard/forward Otega Oweh, forward/center Luke Northweather, Yaya Keita and Sam Godwin, with Godwin now being placed on scholarship.

The Sooners lost a lot to the transfer portal (six) and the NBA Draft (Grant Sherfield), but the key was to not lose the foundation. That foundation is Uzan and Oweh. Those are the guys Moser targeted in his first year to be the cornerstones of the program and neither flinched after the season.

Uzan has been at the heart of OU’s recruitment of transfer portal guys this last month, fully understanding what his role needs to be in getting the team better.

Signees

OU only had two for the 2023 class, but they were big ones in guard Kaden Cooper and forward Jacolb Cole.

Cooper, 6-foot-5, 180 pounds, surprised some by picking OU instead of Alabama. But the Ada, Okla., native is coming home. He is ranked No. 63 overall by On3 and No. 58 overall in the On3 Industry Composite Ranking.

Cole, 6-7 and 185 pounds, had to work his way back after sustaining a serious knee injury during his junior season. He is ranked No. 132 overall by On3 and No. 117 overall in the On3 Industry Composite Ranking.

Transfer portal additions

*Guard Javian McCollum (6-foot-2, 155 pounds, Siena): McCollum was a Plan A target for the Sooners right from the start. He averaged 15.9 points, 3.9 assists and 2.1 rebounds as a sophomore. His pace of play stood out to Moser as OU needs to become a faster team going forward.

*Center John Hugley (6-9, 265, Pittsburgh): The biggest priority for Moser was with the bigs. OU needed to knock it out the park at power forward and center. At least one of those is checked off with Hugley. A knee injury limited him in 2022-23, but he averaged just under 15 points and eight rebounds two years ago.

*Guard Rivaldo Soares (6-6, 205, Oregon): OU needs some experience, some seniors, and Soares helps in that department. He’ll be using his final year of eligibility in Norman and had a built-in connection with new OU assistant Armon Gates, who coached at Oregon last season.

*Guard Le’Tre Darthard (6-4, 180, Utah Valley): Darthard can score (13.8 points). He can pass (3.8 assists). And he can defend (1.2 steals). He’s a Porter Moser guy. Originally from Denton (Texas) Guyer, OU is bringing him closer to home and hoping to make his last year his best year.

What’s left?

The Sooners have two open scholarship spots. One position is easy – power forward. The Sooners don’t have a power forward yet on this roster. OU did bring in former San Diego State power forward Keshad Johnson for a visit last week. That seems to be down to OU and USC.

The other spot is interesting. OU could go for another big man, or Moser might stash this one away to use for the 2024 class. Until Soares and Darthard came into the fold, technically, OU didn’t have any final-year seniors on the roster. OU is recruiting 2024 so aggressively that saving one spot might make sense.

The transfer portal window closes May 11.

Gates back with Moser

It wasn’t just players, but Moser needed to find an assistant coach. He went back to who he knows and hired Armon Gates from Oregon. Gates and Moser worked together at Loyola (Chicago) more than 10 years ago.

Gates has already been instrumental in helping the Sooners in the transfer portal, and you can tell that comfort factor just means something for Moser. Last year got off to a rocky start even before the first game when first-year assistant Matt Brady abruptly left the program for personal reasons.

This is a solid staff put together by Moser with Gates joining Ryan Humphrey and Emanuel Dildy.

Transfer portal defections

*Benny Schroeder: Injuries and COVID slowed down Schroeder’s ability to do much as a true freshman, and he’s now headed to George Washington.

*C.J. Noland: Things went sideways where everybody knew a fresh start was needed after beginning the season as a starter but his playing time decreased through the year.. He’ll get that chance at St. Louis.

*Joe Bamisile: It felt like it was going to be a great match, but it never materialized. Bamisile is heading back east to VCU.

*Bijan Cortes: Moser wanted Cortes to stay. Cortes wanted a bigger role. Hey, it happens. He’ll get that opportunity to do just that at Wichita State.

*Jalen Hill: This one stung a bit because Moser really wanted Hill to be a Sooner all five years. Instead, Hill is headed back home as the Las Vegas kid is going to UNLV for his final year.

*Jacob Groves: OU probably wasn’t going to play Groves 25-30 minutes and his role diminished as the season wore on. He has a great crack at his third school by going to Virginia.

NBA Draft

*Grant Sherfield: Sherfield opted to try his luck professionally after one year with the Sooners. He had some incredible moments at OU but also struggled with consistency when it came to Big 12 play.