Porter Moser seemed like the perfect hire for OU basketball. Time to try again. | Mussatto
Joe MussattoThe Oklahoman
NORMAN — Porter Moser seemed like a tremendous hire for OU men’s basketball in the spring of 2021. He was a program-builder. A coach who could do more with less. A culture guy (aren’t they all) who oozed with energy. An astute basketball mind, by all accounts, who was willing to put in the work.
Having authored two Cinderella runs at Loyola Chicago — a Final Four in 2018 and a Sweet 16 in 2021 — Moser was among the hottest names in the coaching industry when OU convinced him to swap his glass slippers for a pair of crimson and cream Jordans. To leave Sister Jean and the Ramblers and succeed Lon Kruger as head coach of the Sooners.
It was a step up for Moser. A splashy hire by OU athletic director Joe Castiglione. An exciting time to be a Sooner hoops fan.
Seems like eons ago, huh?
Three years without an NCAA Tournament bid later, and amid a free fall of a fourth season, Moser’s OU tenure reached its nadir Saturday night in a loss to LSU — a game in which the Sooners were outscored 8-0 in the final 20 seconds to fall to an LSU team that was 1-10 in SEC play.
A must-win for the Sooners (16-9, 3-9 SEC) devolved into an unforgivable loss.
More:OU basketball's loss to LSU dims NCAA Tournament chances, Porter Moser's future
Though still on the NCAA Tournament bubble by virtue of going undefeated in the nonconference — including marquee wins over Arizona, Louisville and Michigan — the home loss to LSU was debilitating. You can’t blow a gimme like that.
OU’s closing schedule looks like this: at Florida, vs. Mississippi State, vs. Kentucky, at Ole Miss, vs. Missouri, at Texas. The Sooners might be favored in one of those games. OU needs to win at least two of those games, and probably three, to remain in the NCAA Tournament conversation heading into the conference tournament.
Assuming the Sooners fall short, which seems a safe bet, Moser will have led OU to zero NCAA Tournaments in his four seasons as coach. It would match OU’s longest NCAA Tournament drought since the Joe Ramsey and Dave Bliss days of 1975-78.
The Sooners are 23-43 in conference play under Moser. That’s … really bad.
The bar for success at OU isn’t all that high. Just make the NCAA Tournament. That’s all any casual fan cares about. College basketball is a one-month sport. If you’re not playing in March, are you even playing at all?
Sooner basketball fans are apathetic to begin with. That was the case before Moser arrived, and it’s only gotten worse.
Lloyd Noble Center is a lifeless cavern more often than not. During OU’s home loss to Tennessee, ESPN play-by-play man Kevin Brown started getting self-conscious on the call. He said he felt like everybody could hear him in the shushed gym.
But please don’t pin the demise of OU basketball on Lloyd Noble Center. Is it a good place to watch a college basketball game? No. Is it too big, too out of the way? Sure.
But the building is the least of OU basketball’s problems. A glitzy new arena in the proposed Rockcreek Entertainment District might lure curious fans for a year or two. But then it’ll be back to the same old same old. Win and fans will show up. Lose and they won’t. Thunder games are too accessible, and way more fun, for the average fan to choose a college game over the NBA.
So, what’s the fix?
I don’t know if there is one, but Castiglione and Co. at least have to try.
OU might not want to pay the $5 million or $6 million buyout to fire Moser, but it can’t afford to bring him back, either. Not if the Sooners watch the Big Dance from home again.
There will be plenty of time to come up with a wish list of coaching candidates, but before you sell yourself on anybody, just think back to four years ago when Moser was at or near the top of everybody’s list. He performed miracles at Loyola Chicago. He was the belle of the ball.
Then he got to OU, and the slipper stopped fitting.
Joe Mussatto is a sports columnist for The Oklahoman. Have a story idea for Joe? Email him at jmussatto@oklahoman.com. Support Joe's work and that of other Oklahoman journalists by purchasing a digital subscription today at subscribe.oklahoman.com.
Porter Moser buyout: Contract details for OU basketball coach
Colton SulleyThe Oklahoman
NORMAN — If OU men's basketball parted ways with head coach Porter Moser at the end of this season, his buyout would be approximately $7.65 million, according to documents obtained by The Oklahoman.
If fired following this season, Moser would receive the total pro-rata monthly through the remainder of his contract, which runs through June 30, 2028. If Moser is hired elsewhere, the Sooners would not have to pay the remainder of the buyout.
Moser's buyout a season ago would've been $10.2 million.Here is a breakdown of Moser's remaining contract:
- 2026: $3.3M
- 2027: $3.4M
- 2028: $3.5M
In a surprising move given he's failed to make the NCAA Tournament in his first three seasons, OU men's basketball coach Porter Moser was given a $100,000 increase in additional and outside income in June. If the Sooners miss the tournament this season it will be the first time since 1978 the school didn’t make March Madness in four consecutive seasons.
Castiglione credited the raise to a show of appreciation for Moser and his staff's work.*
"It was definitely important to show coach Moser that we appreciate him and what he's providing in leadership," Castiglione said then. "Of course, we were disappointed not getting into the NCAA tournament, but it took many anomalies that have not been seen in the days leading up to the NCAA tournament to keep us out."
The former Arkansas-Little Rock, Illinois State and Loyola Chicago head coach initially signed a six-year contract with an average annual salary of $2.8 million contract with the Sooners when he was hired in 2021. Moser received a two-year contract extension in 2022.
Moser helped lead Loyola Chicago to the Final Four during the 2017-18 season and the Sweet 16 in 2020-21.
Moser holds a 23-43 conference record as OU's head coach.
*DOGE is needed in a lot of places.
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