Moser’s Move to Oklahoma

A Valley Guy Moves to Power 5

(St. Louis, MO) – Porter Moser has taken a job at a ‘power 5’ conference school, but he’s still a Valley guy. After ten extremely successful seasons at Loyola Chicago, Moser has become the head coach at Oklahoma.

During our lengthy interview (listen here), Moser talked openly about his decision to move to the Big XII, his high hopes for LUC’s continued success and how he is hoping to build on previous Sooner success. While excited to move to an upper level program, Moser asserts he will always be a Valley guy.

After two trips to the NCAA’s Sweet Sixteen (one Final Four) Moser was a hot commodity. After the 2018 Final Four, Moser was openly courted by St. John’s and there were several suitors during this offseason.

A Valley Guy Goes to Oklahoma

For Moser, a move away from Rogers Park had to be to a perfect situation. After graduating from Creighton and coaching at both Illinois State and Loyola, he knew what would be required to pull him from the Missouri Valley Conference.

His outstanding relationship with Athletic Director Steve Watson would have to be matched. A university-wide commitment to excellence would have to be evident and he wasn’t looking to rebuild a failing program.

 

 

While Moser has moved to a ‘power 5’ conference, he maintains he will always be a Valley guy. He admires the basketball-minded fan base, the league office and has great friends sprinkled throughout the conference.

Moser says he’ll be watching the Valley.

 

 

Drew Valentine is the new LUC head coach. While he’s never been a head coach and he’s just 29-years-old, Moser is convinced his protege will be successful. Moser says Valentine’s work ethic and ability to build fruitful relationships will carry him far. Get to know Valentine here.

 

 

Taking Over in Norman

Moser’s move to Oklahoma is not a reclamation project. During Lon Kruger’s ten-year stay in Norman, the Sooners won 195 games and qualified for eight NCAA Tournaments. Moser feels fortunate to follow Kruger and the ‘sustained excellence’ of OU basketball. Kruger’s .604 winning percentage at Oklahoma is better than Moser’s .573 at LUC. Both coached their respective teams to a Final Four.

 

 

Moser has been a busy recruiter. With just three returning players and no front court players among them the recruiting challenge has been significant. The former Creighton Bluejay admits the doors to ‘higher level’ players are more open. Moser insists he’ll still be recruiting certain types of players.

 

 

His recruiting efforts have successful. Signing the transferring Groves brothers (Tanner and Jacob) from Eastern Washington filled glaring needs. Tanner, the junior center is ranked as ESPN’s 38th best transfer signing. Three freshmen guards join the Sooners. C.J. Noland is a four-star recruit and is a top-100 ranked high school senior. The other two (Bijan Cortes and Alston Mason) are highly regarded point guards.

College senior transfers Jordan Goldwire (Duke) and Ethan Chargois (SMU) bring valuable experience and talent. Goldwire was part of the Atlantic Coast Conference’s ‘all-Defensive’ team and led the ACC in assist-turnover ratio. 6’9 power forward Akol Mawein (Navarro College) meets another need.

While there are eight players in Moser’s initial recruiting class, two scholarships remain available.

Moser loves being at Oklahoma. Since Athletic Director Joe Castiglione’s 1998 arrival, OU teams have won 18 national championship trophies. Patty Gasso’s softball Sooners have won nine straight Big XII titles and are currently the nation’s top ranked team.

The aggressive, professional and high energy of OU athletics fits Moser perfectly.

He is and always will be a Valley guy and now he is an enthusiastic Sooner.

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