Tag: Oklahoma Men’s Basketball

Buddy Hield and Trae Young top 10 college guards of the last decade per Jon Rothstein

Buddy Hield and Trae Young had special careers in Norman which ended with them as top 10 guards of the last decade.

The Oklahoma Sooners have been spoiled with some special talent on the hardwood. Whether it was Alvin Adams, Stacey King, Wayman Tisdale, Mookie Blaylock, Ryan Minor or the newer era with guys like [autotag]Blake Griffin[/autotag], [autotag]Buddy Hield[/autotag] and [autotag]Trae Young[/autotag].

Hield and Young had two of the better individual seasons I’ve seen any college basketball player have. Hield’s senior season was remarkable to watch. He averaged 25 points, 5.7 rebounds on 50.1% from the field and 45.7% from 3. He’s the only player I’ve ever seen that when he shot a three it felt like it was going in every time. It’s what led to him winning several national awards.

Young’s season was special as well. I remember watching him play basketball at the YMCA in Norman when he was in junior high. You could tell then he’d be special but I never thought he’d be that special. In his lone season in Norman, he led the nation in points (27.4) and assists (8.7) per game which had never been done before.

More: Oklahoma men’s basketball all-time roster: Sooner Legends

Those special seasons helped land both on CBSSports’ Jon Rothstein’s top 10 list of best college guards in the last decade.

Now, it says it is in no particular order so who knows who is first and who is 10th. It’s also a great list with a lot of great guards. Still, you can’t convince me any of those guys are better than Hield. That’s how special that season was.

It helped get Oklahoma back into the Final Four and although that didn’t turn out how Sooner fans would have wanted, it was one fun ride.

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Sooners offer in-state star Kaden Cooper as Porter Moser lays down roots in Oklahoma

2023 small forward Kaden Cooper receives an offer from the Oklahoma Sooners.

Last year, Porter Moser was about immediate upgrades and getting guys in that he knew could play in his first season as the Oklahoma Sooners’ head basketball coach. While they failed to secure an NCAA Tournament bid, the foundation was slowly beginning to be laid for his time in Norman. Moser has spent minimal time dwelling on the past and is on the recruiting trail to add to his program.

On his and his staff’s recruiting journey, they have a strong focus in-state as they try to monopolize the state’s best hoopers from going across state lines to play at other schools. The latest offer goes to G/F Kaden Cooper of Ada, Oklahoma. Cooper is a 2023 three-star who projects best as a small forward for college. He holds offers from Oklahoma State, Elon, DePaul, Oral Roberts, SMU, Texas, and others.

Cooper is one of the leaders on team Trae Young, Oklahoma’s only Adidas sponsored team on The Circuit. Over the last weekend in March, Cooper and Top 25-star Ja’Kobe Walter led Team Trae Young to a weekend sweep.

Cooper excels in transition but spoke this weekend on his need to continue to evolve as a shot-maker. That would be a welcomed trait to add to the program and music to the ears of Sooners fans’ who grew frustrated at times with the lack of high-level shot makers on the first edition of Porter Moser’s team.

Cooper hardly has a leading team, but Oklahoma will likely shoot up the leader boards for his services. The Sooners will look to apply its pressure on Cooper over the spring and summer and put itself in a prime position to land the aggressive in-state wing.

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Oklahoma Basketball among USATODAY Sports’ best teams to never win a title

According to USATODAY Sports, the Oklahoma Sooners are among the best men’s basketball programs that haven’t won an NCAA title.

A win or two more in the regular season or a win over Texas Tech in the Big 12 conference tournament would have been enough to get the Oklahoma Sooners Men’s Basketball team into the NCAA Tournament. While on the cusp, it’s unlikely [autotag]Porter Moser[/autotag]’s first Sooners team would have been able to do enough to make a run.

And that’s kinda where Oklahoma has been in basketball more often than not. The Sooners are typically competitive in a deep Big 12 basketball conference that has a strong argument to be considered the best in the nation. Unfortunately, that competitiveness hasn’t bled over into consistent tournament appearances or title runs.

But they’ve had several really good teams over the course of the last 40 years, but came up just short in their bid to snag that elusive NCAA championship. Looking at some of the best teams to never win a title, Erick Smith of USA TODAY Sports included the Oklahoma Sooners as one of the best programs to never win a title.

Besides making the Final Four in 1939 and 1947, the Sooners had no NCAA history to speak of before Billy Tubbs arrived in 1980. They were seeded No. 1 four times in a six-year span starting in 1984 and lost the national championship game in 1998 to Kansas. In total, Oklahoma is equal with Gonzaga in being a No. 1 seed five times. Only six teams have done it more. Kelvin Sampson and Lon Kruger also led the school to the Final Four in 2002 and 2016, respectively, giving the school five national semifinal appearances. – Smith, USA TODAY Sports

The Oklahoma Sooners have been able to attract superstar players over the years and that’s helped keep the program relevant. At some point though, they’ll need to come away with a title to establish themselves as a basketball school.

That’s the task ahead of Porter Moser. To turn the Oklahoma Sooners into an annual participant in March Madness and build them into a title contender.

It was a promising first year for Moser, but the struggles through January and February revealed a program that has work to do. Now in his first full offseason, Moser can begin building his recruiting and transfer portal classes to help the Sooners get back toward the top of the Big 12.

The good news is the Sooners have a solid foundation to build upon.

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Porter Moser dishes on transfers Tanner Groves and Jordan Goldwire

New Sooners’ coach Porter Moser discussed the additions of transfers Tanner Groves and Jordan Goldwire on Friday.

New Oklahoma Sooners’ men’s basketball coach Porter Moser added size to the interior with Eastern Washington transfer Tanner Groves (6 feet, 9 inches) and depth to the perimeter with Duke transfer Jordan Goldwire. Both are huge additions to the roster heading into next season.

He discussed both transfers with media on Friday afternoon.

Goldwire adds experience at point guard and physicality on defense. He averaged 4.0 assists and 2.3 steals-per-game for the Blue Devils and was named All-ACC defensive team.

“Jordan Goldwire was another veteran,” Moser said. “You know, he played at the highest level at Duke. He played in great culture there. He was All-ACC defensive Team, he had 94 assists. He was seventh in the ACC in assists, so so many things but he brings a veteran mentality to it… I think Jordan is looking for a little more expanded offensive role as well than he had at Duke. So, I just think it’s great mix of a veteran guy who has been through a lot of games at a high level and he’s all ACC defense and he can really contribute.”

Groves thrived on the inside for the Eagles, earning Big Sky Conference Most Valuable Player honors as a redshirt junior. He averaged 17.2 points and 8.0 rebounds.

“Tanner Groves, the big man from Eastern Washington, right when we started watching his film, he was in the portal before I got the job. So, the recruiting for him, he had almost every school in the country reach out to him and right away when we made the contact watching what we did with our big kid Cameron Krutwig, who was a third-team All American at Loyola, Tanner just has that feel. He can play out in the perimeter, he can pass, he can function, he can take you inside but he can also take you outside. He can really shoot the three. He’s got a high IQ. We just really started talking about paralleling what we did with him at Loyola what we did. I just think he is going to be a big help right away. You saw, I know he had the big game against Kansas, 35, but he was player of the year in that league. The other thing I love about Tanner is he loves ball. He loves basketball.”

The addition of Groves and Goldwire via the transfer portal will certainly give Oklahoma a boost after losing Austin Reaves, De’Vion Harmon and Brady Manek.