OU Basketball Preview

In a season that will be filled with finality, the Oklahoma Sooner men’s basketball team will try to accomplish a first. While the Sooners bid adieu to the Big 12 in preparation for a move to the SEC next season, OU will be looking for its first NCAA Tournament appearance of the Porter Moser era. They will do so with a roster filled with a lot of new faces but loaded with athleticism and talent.

As has been the case in Moser’s first two seasons in Norman, the Sooners turned to the transfer portal to replenish the losses and rebuild the Sooner roster for the coming season. Only five players remain from the 15-member, 202223 Oklahoma basketball roster.

After losing in the first round of the Big 12 tournament to Oklahoma State, seven players moved on, including the top two scorers from last year’s squad. Grant Sherfield declared for the NBA Draft after leading the Sooners in scoring, and Tanner Groves exhausted his eligibility.

Five entered the transfer portal. All totaled more than 75% of the Sooners’ scoring and rebounding from last season is no longer in Norman. In its season-opening win over Central Michigan, only three Sooners were on the active roster last season.

Moser is committed to recruiting athleticism and rebuilding the roster.

“I think the biggest takeaway from our offseason workouts is that we’re definitely longer and more athletic, which enables us to play faster,” Moser said. “We have simply not been very athletic. I think that’s the first thing you’re going to see different about our team is our athleticism. I’m excited about some of the length we’ve brought in. We’ve brought in some speed from the guard spots.”

Despite the fresh look, the expectations nationally are not high for the Sooners. OU was picked to finish 12th in the 14team Big 12, but that has not dampened the spirits of the third-year head coach.

“I think this team is a likable, high-energy team,” Moser said. “I think we’re gonna be able to create some offense with our defense. Anytime you’re longer and faster, you can create a more havoc defense, you can create a more fast-paced offense. And I think that’s what’s trending right now with our team.”

With so many fresh faces for the Sooners this season, a familiar returning starter may be the key to the Sooners’ success. Milos Uzan emerged as a foundational piece for the Sooners as a true freshman last season. The former four-star prospect found his way into the starting lineup and averaged nearly eight points per game and almost three assists per contest.

“Milos was steadfast the whole time when the portal window was open. He wanted to come back,” Moser said. “Right out of the gate as a sophomore, he is going to be our captain, and he’s taken that leadership, and he’s run with it.”

For Uzan, it is definitely a new look, a new feel and a new group, but the challenge to mesh a new look locker room has been a fun one.

“We’ve got nine new faces this year,” said Uzan. “In college basketball, it is basically who can come together the quickest with the transfer portal right now. Something I’ve noticed with everyone that we have in this team is they’re all hungry, and I feel like I have something to prove as well. It’s something that we all can combine and do something special.”

The return of Otega Oweh gives the Sooners another foundational piece who has been in Porter Moser’s system for the last two seasons. The sophomore guard started nine games last season and provided an instant spark for the Sooners when he was inserted into the starting lineup. Already this season, he registered a career-high 20 points in the win over Mississippi Valley State and can develop into a shutdown defender.

“He’s got the body and makeup to be an elite defender,” Moser said. “He just has to get the experience to do it, like the intricacies of knowing how to switch, knowing how to really take the scouting report on the guy and get it into the game, to not let up.”

Sam Godwin was the quintessential glue guy for the Sooners last season and has been in the starting lineup early this season. The development of Luke Northweather during his redshirt season put the 6’11” post player in position to help the Sooners this season.

But that is where the familiar for the Sooners ends. The roster rebuild started with a push for more athleticism and some experience in the backcourt.

The Sooners added Siena transfer Javian McCollum, a junior guard who averaged career-highs of 15.9 points and 3.9 assists last season. Utah Valley transfer Le’Tre Darthard is a senior who earned a spot on both the All-WAC first team and the conference’s all-defensive team last season.

Oregon’s Rivaldo Soares and Houston Christian’s Maks Klanjscek add experience and length. Soares is a 6’6” wing player who averaged 7.2 points and 3.6 rebounds last season, while Klanjscek is a four-time transfer who averaged 15 points on 35.2% shooting from deep.

It is possible that the biggest addition, both physically and figuratively, is Pittsburgh transfer John Hugley IV. The 6’10” center averaged 14.8 points two seasons ago before missing most of last season to focus on mental health and injury rehabilitation. Hugley IV provides a physical presence inside that the Sooners have desperately needed.

“He gives us a huge physical presence inside. 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. That’s what we hope for him. He gives us a different inside presence.”

Add 6’7” Georgia Tech transfer Jalon Moore and the Oklahoma roster is dotted with potential difference makers and experienced talent.

“I think what feels different with the portal this year is the flat-out talent level,” Moser said. “I think our talent level and the need level, I think we addressed it more in the transfer portal. I think we got a little older.”

With the added experience, the Sooners also upgraded its shooting, and every player is dangerous from beyond the 3-point line.

“I have confidence in a lot of guys stepping up and shooting 3s,” Moser said. “There’s really not a guy (who can’t) – I mean that, sincerely. You’re not going to see me flinch if Sam Godwin takes one. We had seven different guys hit 3s in our opener and I’m pleased with that.”

There is, of course, the eventual exit from the Big 12 as the Sooners play their last season in one of the most challenging conferences, if not the most difficult in college basketball. With the SEC looming next season, the approach is not about looking toward the future or planning for the next step. The plan is to win now.

“It really doesn’t change a thing,” Moser said, about the move to the SEC. “The Big 12 has been the best basketball conference unequivocally the last two years. Right now, our focus and our feet are planted in Big 12 basketball.”

Oklahoma’s men’s basketball team is coming off its second consecutive missed NCAA Tournament. The Sooners haven’t gone back-to-back seasons missing the NCAA tournament since 2009. In the portal era of college basketball, things can turn in an instant, and Oklahoma has added talented playmakers. But the one thing the Sooners need the most is wins, and Porter Moser feels confident in the talent he has added.

“Our goal is not to get into the tournament,” Moser said. “Our goal is to get into the tournament to give us an opportunity to win a championship.”– BSM