Porter Moser era begins at OU
It was going to take a certain kind of special to get Porter Moser away from Loyola, away from the city of Chicago.
Even though Moser’s coaching roots actually began in Arkansas and Texas, basketball fans know him as the guy who transformed the Ramblers.
Ten seasons, two Sweet 16 appearances and one legendary run to the Final Four in 2018, Moser made Loyola nationally relevant again.
For Moser, though, OU is that certain kind of special. The culture, doing things the right way, the resources, athletic director Joe Castiglione, the list goes on and on.
It’s why Moser is making the move, agreeing to become OU’s head coach last weekend, a week removed from the retirement of Lon Kruger. And it’s that passion, excitement that was infectious in his 40-minute introductory press conference Wednesday morning.
“I’m not coming in here and using the word rebuild. I want to use the word enhance,” Moser said. “I want to enhance the brand. I want to enhance the Oklahoma basketball brand. I want to enhance the traditions that have gone on here and add my energy and add my personal touch to what has been years and decades of excellence here.
“I'm looking forward to enhancing that. I'm looking forward to meeting the people. I said yesterday, the people that don't know Porter Moser soon will. Part of what I'm about is high energy, pouring into others, high energy, pouring into my student-athletes.”
Moser is fresh off a run the Sweet 16 that included an upset of No. 1 seed Illinois in the second round, the same round the Sooners were able to reach in what turned out to be the final season of Kruger’s remarkable career.
Since then, the transfer portal has been running amok for OU. Players leaving left and right. Because of scheduling conflicts for some of the other guys, Umoja Gibson was the lone scholarship player in attendance for Moser’s press conference.
If Moser is going to keep OU at a high level and bring it to even greater heights, it’s going to start with finding his guys. And that begins with relationships.
“Relationships, you build a program through relationships to build your culture where they wanna be part of something bigger than themselves,” Moser said. “If there's no relationship and no trust, sometimes they're on their own.
“We want an atmosphere where everyone's pulling for each other and that takes time. So yes, there's a lot of roster spots open. But I'm looking forward to building the ones there.”
Moser, 52, has been around the coaching game for more than 20 years, but he’s not wrong to say he’s a young 52. Others, including Castiglione, have labeled Moser as a tireless recruiter, and it’s every easy to see how he has been able to achieve that.
The challenge is bringing the same principles, the same philosophies that worked so well in Chicago and have them in Norman.
Again, not changing who you are or what you’re looking for, but enhancing it.
“It’s the same principles. I don’t want to change our blueprint. I just feel like we’ll be involved with a higher-level student-athlete,” Moser said. “To get winners, to get young men that want to get a great degree and want to compete for championships, that want to do the right thing, all of that. You have a lot of resources. You have a league to sell that to. That’s what I’m excited about. I hit the ground running with that.
“The recruiting, you have to recruit to how you want to play and who you are. We are going to continue to do that at Oklahoma. I have no question. I just know the way I am in recruiting. I have a high energy about it and I have a high energy about building relationships and having guy understand the way we’re going to play is going to be a successful way.”
This isn’t a stop-gap for Moser. He hasn’t really ever been a stop-gap coach. His Illinois State tenure back in the day came to an abrupt halt when he was fired. That incident helped build Moser into the coach he is. Those next four years at Saint Louis under College Basketball Hall of Famer Rick Majerus helped anchor the principles Moser has today.
It’s the culture he talks about, a culture that has to be brought every single day. It can’t be once or twice, has to be consistent. The standards, the habits.
Bring that attitude combined with results, and Moser’s goal is to make Lloyd Noble Center as loud as possible. Not just for Bedlam vs. Oklahoma State or Kansas, but every home game.
“I will tell you that, over and over when I took over Loyola, I said at the press conference 10 years ago, and people said to me 'Chicago's a pro town. It's a pro town, nobody comes to the games.' And I said, 'It's a sports town.' And that's the thing about students,” Moser said. “They love sports. They love watching something exciting. They love watching something they want to do with it. They gotta feel a part of it.
“The students, whether it’s I gotta go pass out hot dogs, whether I gotta go speak at their fraternity or sorority, sign me up. And I know they've been doing that here. So that's not a new idea, they're just gonna get to know Porter Moser. And they're gonna get to know how much it means to me to come in here and hear this thing filled up.”
Moser remembers the first home game at Loyola and how you could hear a pin drop. A stark contrast to the last couple of seasons where Loyola went 38-2 in its last 40 home games under Moser.
That’s the type of presence Moser has. Tell him he can’t do something, he relishes it. His determination will be tough to duplicate, but he’ll bring it every time to show what he’s all about and what his program is going to be about.
“Every day you’re gonna get 110% of me,” concluded Moser. “Every day, we’re gonna be building towards sustainability. The goal is sustainability.”
That goal got off to a great initial start.