Oklahoma coach Porter Moser hits transfer portal to make Sooners bigger, more athletic

Updated Oct. 26, 2023 6:10 a.m. ET

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NORMAN, Okla. (AP) — Oklahoma coach Porter Moser believes better days are ahead for a program that has been inconsistent in two years under his watch.

The Sooners, while scrappy defensively last season, struggled at times to score on the way to a 15-17 record and a last-place finish in the Big 12. Much of last year’s team is gone, and many of those players have been replaced by taller, more athletic players via the transfer portal.

“I just think we’re noticeably playing faster, we’re more athletic, we’re long,” Moser said. “I think we’re deeper. We’ve had drop-offs when we’ve got into our bench last two years. We can go into the bench and have some guys that have played a lot of college basketball instead of going into the bench and having some freshmen and some guys that haven’t ever played before.”

Moser focused largely on filling the guard spots in the portal.

Le’Tre Darthard, a graduate transfer, averaged 13.8 points last season at Utah Valley State. Javian McCollum averaged 15.9 points and 3.9 assists while making 36% of his threes as a sophomore at Siena. Rivaldo Soares averaged 7.2 points, 3.6 rebounds and 1.8 assists last season as a senior at Oregon. Maks Klanjscek, a Slovenian who transferred from Houston Christian, averaged 15.0 points, 3.8 rebounds and 2.4 assists last season.

“I know with the transfer portal and everything every year, there’s a lot of turnover, a lot of new guys,” Moser said. “We can talk about the negatives of a lot of the transfer portal, but the positives are you can add key additions. We feel like we have.”

BIG ADDITIONS

Moser got some portal help inside, too.

John Hugley IV, a 6-10 forward/center, averaged 8.0 points and 3.6 rebounds his sophomore season at Pitt last season. Two years ago, he 14.8 points, 7.9 rebounds and 1.3 assists.

“He’s a guy that can carve out space,” Moser said. “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.”

Jalon Moore, a 6-foot-7 forward, started 15 games at Georgia Tech last year.

HOLDOVERS

Milos Uzan is back after being named the the Big 12’s All-Freshman team. The guard averaged 7.6 points, 3.0 assists and 2.7 rebounds last season. Moser said he recruited Uzan to stay and be a team captain.

“He looks stronger, he’s playing with great pace, his shot looks better, his leadership looks better. On every facet, I’m excited for his development.”

Otega Oweh, a guard, started nine games for the Sooners last season and averaged 4.8 points and 2.1 rebounds per contest. Sam Godwin, a 6-10 forward who played high school ball at Southmoore (Oklahoma) High School, averaged 4.9 points and 3.3 rebounds.

FRESHMAN CLASS

Moser got some wins coming out of the high school ranks, too. Guard Kaden Cooper is a four-star prospect from Ada, Oklahoma and Jacolb Cole was listed as a four-star by Rivals and ESPN.

SCHEDULE

The Sooners open the season at home Nov. 6 against Central Michigan. The schedule includes games against Iowa and USC or Seton Hall at the Rady Children’s Invitational Nov. 23-24, a border matchup with No. 14 Arkansas in Tulsa on Dec. 9 and a matchup with North Carolina on Dec. 20 in Charlotte, N.C. The Big 12 opener is Jan. 6 against Iowa State.

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