Oklahoma Sooners basketball is having an offseason of revamping and change as the program is being passed from the hands of Lon Kruger over to incoming head coach Porter Moser who comes over from Loyola Chicago.
The excitement for Moser from the university as well as the fans has been on full display since the news was announced. The expectations for him are high but he likely wouldn’t have it any other way after establishing the Ramblers as a legitimate tournament threat in recent seasons.
On Wednesday, Moser was officially introduced as the new leader of the Sooners in front of local media and a small crowd. It was an ultra-rare in-person press conference in today’s world, a perfect forum for him to display his energy and upbeat attitude to the Oklahoma faithful for the first time.
Here are three takeaways from what Moser had to say in his first press conference as the Oklahoma head basketball coach:
Culture of Oklahoma helped lure Moser to Norman
Porter Moser has had options over the last several years as far as other major programs wanting to bring him in to take over their program, but he chose Oklahoma. He said numerous times that the culture and “family atmosphere” was a large reason as to why.
He credited athletic director Joe Castiglione and former head coach Lon Kruger for what they had established in terms of a positive culture and winning “the right way.” It was the biggest reason toward drawing Moser in to take over the program.
“To coach at the highest level in the Big 12 conference in a family atmosphere-driven university is what any coach, especially me, covets and looks forward to.” Moser said.
Given that Moser has had options over the years and the chance to jump to a bigger program numerous times, it seems genuine that that was a key factor in his decision. He stressed that he is not someone who likes to change programs constantly and had a lot of time invested in Loyola Chicago, and plans to do the same in Norman. Oklahoma is the right program at the right time for him.
“I’m not a jumper, I hope to plant roots here for a long, long time,” Moser said.