Moser's vision coming in place
You couldn’t stop Oklahoma seniors Tanner Groves and Jalen Hill leading the celebration with the crowd.
Just moments before, the unranked Sooners, coming in on a three-game losing streak and teetering at 11-9 overall, had just whipped No. 2 Alabama 93-69. As soon as that clock hit zero, students and fans rushed the court.
Groves and Hill and the other OU players were hugging, high-fiving, jumping up and down, the party was rightfully on at Lloyd Noble Center.
Sights & Sounds -- OU-Alabama
The next person to find was head coach Porter Moser. Kept looking in the throng of people, no sign of OU’s second-year head coach.
There was a reason, though.
“I sat there when the crowd rushed the floor – my younger self might have ran out in the middle of it,” joked Moser after the game. “And I just sat there and said, ‘this was the vision.’ This kind of excitement with the student body. I thought they were awesome. They were there early. Best crowd I’ve had since I’ve been here.”
Vindication might be too strong of a word, but that moment meant as much for Moser as it did for the Sooners. And it was a massive moment for the Sooners, who are fighting game-by-game to stay in the NCAA tournament hunt.
That fight has had its fair share of disappointments. Not just disappointments, but heart-wrenching, gut-punches when it comes to life in the Big 12.
Moser can soak in a moment like Saturday because he remembers just a week before, a 62-60 home loss to Baylor.
“But the Baylor game, they (students) came out and gave everything they had,” Moser said. “I’ve been really making an effort to connect with the students. Going everywhere I can. Non-stop. And to see them come out and then have to leave the building on that two-point loss against Baylor.
“I just wanted to soak it in for the students, for our guys. Because that’s the long-term vision I have is to create an every night atmosphere here. An every night atmosphere here. For them to come back, I just want them to know how much I appreciate it. All the students, everyone I saw. That’s the vision.”
Moser has been preaching to his team to keep their head up. The number of one-possession losses has been almost laughable at this point. All you can do is keep working, keep getting better.
His message has been the same to the crowd, to the students. He mentioned it after a 70-69 loss to Texas to start Big 12 play on New Year’s Eve afternoon, please come back.
That crowd against the Longhorns was solid, especially with students gone for winter break. But there was just a different vibe with the Crimson Tide going into town.
A game removed from OU’s worst outing under Moser in an embarrassing blowout at TCU where it looked like the Sooners had nothing left in the tank, the crowd showed up early and ready for Moser’s group to give them something to cheer.
OU responded. Emphatically.
“I don’t remember the last time that’s ever happened here,” Hill said. “Since I’ve been here, it’s never happened. So just seeing that, the fans were great. That’s the best I’ve seen the fans ever since I’ve been here.”
It was OU’s first win against a top-2-ranked AP team since beating No. 1-ranked Kansas in 2002, and the Sooners’ largest margin of victory against any team ranked in the top five.
An afternoon nobody in attendance will forget.
Moser had been searching for that mega-signature win. You get chances galore in the Big 12, but the Sooners just hadn’t pulled one off.
Alabama is it, strangely enough it took the Big 12/SEC Challenge to make some magic happen. The fun and joy was back at Lloyd Noble Center.
It can’t stop there. Bedlam vs. Oklahoma State is Wednesday, and it’s like a restart after OU’s 2-6 record to begin conference play.
Can the passion, will the passion of Saturday afternoon be duplicated again? Can it be surpassed? This is Moser’s vision. It’s time to keep it going.
“It means everything to me, honestly,” said Hill about being a part of that atmosphere. “I want him to be here as long as he can. Ten-plus years. Him to be a great hall of fame coach. I think us three right here (Hill, Groves, Grant Sherfield), we can do that. I think we’ve been doing that. That’s just a goal of ours – to help him out.”