It has been seven months since Porter Moser took over as the head basketball coach for the Oklahoma Sooners, and it’s been one first after another.

His first day in Norman. His first commitment on the recruiting trail. His first practice. His first exhibition game. You get the idea.

We’re running out of firsts, but Tuesday night will mark another big one, obviously. The countdown has hit zero as Moser’s first game as Sooners head coach is 7 p.m. vs. Northwestern State.

Taking over for a retiring Lon Kruger meant filling some big (and polite) shoes, and for Moser, it’s been about putting together a puzzle.

He had to find his staff – did that, executing a solid plan with assistant coaches K.T. Turner, Emanuel Dildy and David Patrick. Then he had to find nine new faces via recruiting or the transfer portal and try to make it all work. The pieces are officially in place, and now we’re about to see how quickly things can come together.

“You take over a job, sometimes you are inheriting … sometimes you’re not inheriting a full roster. But sometimes it’s nine guys and pretty much a big core,” said Moser two weeks ago. “At least those guys know each other. With us having four guys – the challenging thing is to continue to bring them together and that takes time. I think we’re doing as good as we can do. We’re spending time off the floor. We’re doing things on the floor. We’re constantly relationship building.

“What really brings the team close together is when they have to go through adversity together. Not just the good times, but the tough times – a loss, a tough game. Tough practices. We had a boot camp for that reason, to have them sharing some adversity. That’s when you become closer. And spending time to know each other. I think a team pulling for each other, that culture, is a competitive advantage.”

You start checking the boxes off, and you have to believe Moser and staff did their job. Finding experience in guys like guard Jordan Goldwire (Duke), center Tanner Groves (Eastern Washington) and forward Ethan Chargois (SMU).

Getting gems on the recruiting trail like guards Bijan Cortes and C.J. Noland. Keeping some semblance of a team with players such as Jalen Hill, Mo Gibson and Elijah Harkless.

It’s not an OU-centric issue, though. With this being the initial season with the one-time free transfer is firmly in play, the first couple of months across the country are going to be about how quickly individuals from all different backgrounds and experience can come together and become a team.

Nobody is saying Moser and the Sooners are a bunch of ragtag underdogs, but patience will be preached early and often until the Moser culture is established.

“I definitely think it has been a bit of a challenge,” Tanner Groves said. “It’s always hard to get a bunch of new guys together and try to get them all on the same page. I think we’ve been going at it now for about five months. I really like the strides and the progress that we’ve made so far.

“I think that we have a lot of potential to be great this year, and I think the coaches have done an unbelievable job of getting everyone to mesh and connect with one another. I like where we’re at right now in terms of the togetherness of the team. I think that just throughout the season, throughout the trials and tribulations of the game, we’re only going to grow more as a team.”

Moser was able to work magic in turning Loyola from an afterthought to one of the best mid-major programs in the country. There are foundations already in place in Norman, and Moser has leaned into the OU tradition to speak to the fan base and to the past and present players and to recruits on the trail.

His energy, his passion is infectious. He’s been talking about it for the last seven months. He no longer has to talk about it after Tuesday. It’s here and will be evident from this point forward. Moser’s time has arrived, and he’s ready.

SoonerScoop.com projected Starting Five:

*Jordan Goldwire

*Mo Gibson

*Elijah Harkless

*Jalen Hill

*Tanner Groves