Oklahoma basketball: What Porter Moser said about taking Sooners job

Porter Moser cannot wait to get to work as the next head coach of the Oklahoma basketball team.

With Lon Kruger retiring this spring, the Oklahoma basketball program ushers in a new era with Porter Moser at the helm after leaving Loyola-Chicago.

Moser replaces a man who has taken two different programs to the Final Four in his illustrious coaching career. With a Final Four appearance himself, while leading Loyola, Moser looks to do the same thing now in Norman. For him to leave a really good situation in Chicago for a more challenging one in the Big 12 should have the Sooner Family excited about his arrival in 2021.

“Our family is so excited and honored to join the Sooner family,” said Moser. “Joe Castiglione has a reputation for building championship programs at the University of Oklahoma. I’ve always said there are reasons why you win.”

“If you look at the standards that the programs at Oklahoma have set, there are reasons why they’ve won. The coaches, infrastructure and community are all championship caliber. You just want to be a part of that. To play in a premier league like the Big 12 and be a part of this championship culture excites me.”

“I have so much respect for Coach Kruger. He’s one of the icons of our profession. The fact that he was at Oklahoma shows that OU covets character. He’s everything that young coaches should aspire to. He’s all about winning the right way. I look forward to continuing that blueprint and continuing the blueprint we had at Loyola: Winning the right way.”

“I’m thrilled to join a program that is so focused on culture, people and excellence. I’m looking forward to diving in and building relationships with our players, the other coaches and the OU community.”

Porter Moser has big shoes to fill as the next head coach of Oklahoma basketball

While Moser was spot-on by pointing out how great of an athletic director he has in Joe Castiglione, as well as wanting to carry on the legacy of Kruger the right way, he has to adjust very quickly to how strong of a league the Big 12 is. More than half of the league’s 10 teams are capable of making it into the NCAA Tournament annually, and Moser must do so at Oklahoma.

Though it is more of a football rivalry, Oklahoma should have a great one on the hardwood with Chris Beard leaving Texas Tech to go coach Texas. The most important thing Moser must do at Oklahoma is to continue to recruit his type of guys so he can build his program the right way. If Oklahoma has to chase top talent scattered throughout the Southwest, that could be an issue.

Moser and his family could not be more excited to start their next chapter with the Sooners.

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