Gates is the start of the OU rebuild
We have officially reached a dead period for college basketball recruiting, going from Monday through Thursday before the chaos begins again Friday.
Football recruiting tends to see a lot of decisions made during a dead period as recruits and transfers have time to really think about it and make their call.
The same can be said and will be said this week for the basketball transfer portal. The lingering question is going to be whether it means Oklahoma is about to get on the board?
The Sooners have been working hard behind the scenes since the portal window opened four weeks ago. But OU didn’t have its initial visitors until this weekend with guards Javian McCollum (Siena) and Jayden Nunn (VCU).
As Porter Moser awaits that first portal commitment, you can cross off the assistant coach search. Sources confirmed Saturday that Oregon assistant coach Armon Gates is going to be rejoining a Moser-led staff once again.
Gates coached at Loyola (Chicago) under Moser during Moser’s initial years with the Ramblers, 2011-13. After that, he was at Northwestern for five years and Nebraska for four years before heading to the Ducks for this one season. His coaching career began at Western Kentucky.
This is a nice win for Moser and something that was sorely needed. Just a couple of weeks before this season started, assistant coach Matt Brady resigned for personal reasons, putting the Sooners in a hole even before the year began.
Longtime friend and coach, Doc Sadler, stepped in to become a special assistant, but it was pretty clear it was just a one-year deal and Sadler helping out his buddy in a rough spot.
Gates has a reputation for great guard development, so you can already circle someone like point guard Milos Uzan as someone to watch learn under Gates’ tutelage.
A formal announcement is expected this week about Gates’ hiring. The time for building the 2023-24 roster has officially begun.
On the portal front, OU has six open spots to work with after Moser has seen seven players depart for the transfer portal or the NBA Draft.
The Sooners also saw a couple of big-time targets come off the board over the weekend. Sometimes, you just need to be that first visit. OU wasn’t and saw guard Denver Jones (Florida International) head to Auburn and Jonathan Pierre (Nova Southeastern) pick Memphis.
OU is shaping up for an active week this weekend and beyond, with a month remaining before the window closes May 11. It started with McCollum making the trip Friday.
McCollum had a solid sophomore season at Siena. The Florida native averaged 15.9 points, 3.9 assists and 2.1 rebounds per contest. The Sooners will be facing competition from Nebraska, Central Florida, South Florida and Creighton to land the 6-foot-2, 155-pound transfer.
Nunn’s numbers won’t pop out, but his athletic ability absolutely does. Nunn averaged 9.3 points, 2.5 rebounds and 1.5 assists per game. He had 16 double-digit performances, including a 31-point outing in a win vs. St. Joseph’s.
As is the case with the football portal, visits in the basketball portal can happen in a hurry. As of this moment, one visitor is confirmed for OU for the weekend in former East Carolina guard Javon Small.
Small is originally from South Bend, Ind., so Notre Dame is one to watch, among others, but Small is set to see Norman. After averaging two points as a freshman, he became an impact player for the Pirates as a sophomore. He averaged 15.8 points, 5.6 assists and 4.8 rebounds.
As active as the OU assistant coaches and support staff members have been in reaching out to portal candidates via social media, it wouldn’t be surprising at all to see more visits being lined up by the time Friday comes around.
Length. Speed. Athleticism. Shooting. Toughness. It’s what Moser is looking for, and the Sooners are searching far and wide to find the right pieces to fit for Moser’s third season.
Gates is in. Now it’s time to add some players.