Oklahoma basketball: Loyola’s Porter Moser the perfect fit
By Chip Rouse
It’s official. Joe Castiglione got his man. Porter Moser is the next men’s Oklahoma basketball coach.
light. Related Story. Oklahoma basketball job more enticing than you might think
The OU athletic director on Saturday announced the hiring of the 52-year-old Moser, the man behind Loyola of Chicago’s magical NCAA Tournament runs of recent seasons. Moser becomes the 14th head basketball coach at Oklahoma.
Moser has become one of the hottest names among mid-major head coaches. He is probably best recognized for taking Loyola — and, of course, the school’s No. 1 fan and team chaplain, champion, Sister Jean Delores-Schmidt — to the Final Four in 2018.
The Chicago-based Ramblers made headlines again this year, advancing to the Sweet 16 as an 11 seed with a shocking second-round David vs. Goliath upset of No. 1-seeded Illinois.
“We are absolutely thrilled to announce and welcome Porter Moser as our next great OU head coach,” Castiglione said in a statement issued by the university. “As we dug deep into the backgrounds of the candidates, his attributes, acumen and record of success totally aligned with what we were seeking.”
Moser agreed to a six-year contract. The details of the contract were not disclosed, but it was reported that Moser turned down a 10-year contract extension at Loyola Chicago that would have paid him $2.2 million annually. OU was paying Lon Kruger, who retired after 10 seasons, around $3.3 million.
Moser has clearly demonstrated his ability to recruit and develop players who are able to compete and win against some of the top programs in the sport. He is a players’ coach who builds a strong relationship and trust with his players. As a result the whole is greater than the sum of the individual parts.
The proof is in the pudding, as they say. Because Moser is able to get the most out of his players, he has been able to build a solid record of success. That is what Castiglione meant when he said the former Loyola Chicago coach is the right fit for the Oklahoma basketball program.
There are plenty of similarities between Lon Kruger and Porter Moser
Moser’s success at Loyola seems to be right out of the Kruger mold. His teams play sound, fundamental defense and they practice patience on the offensive end, looking for the best shot. They look to their defense to create offensive opportunities.
The Ramblers were second in Division I in adjusted defensive efficiency, first among teams in this year’s NCAA Tournament, and led the nation in scoring defense, allowing opponents just 56.1 points per game. Oh, and that patience on the offensive end paid off as Loyola shot 49.8 percent from the field this season, sixth best among Division I teams.
“The fact that (Lon Kruger) was at Oklahoma shows that OU covets character. He’s all about winning the right way. I look forward to continuing that blueprint.” — New OU head coach Porter Moser
Does that sound like a formula that could work at Oklahoma and in the Big 12?
Moser was 188-140 in his decade at Loyola Chicago and he is 293-241 all-time as a head coach. His team was 26-5 this season and champions of the Missouri Valley Conference.
Before taking the job at Loyola, Moser was head coach at Illinois State for four years preceded by three seasons at Arkansas-Little Rock. He was an assistant at Texas A&M from 1996-98. Kelvin Sampson’s Sooners were 5-0 against A&M during that time, including an 80-71 win at Lloyd Noble Center in January 1998.
Moser last coached a game at Lloyd Noble Center 21 years ago
Moser coached one other time at Lloyd Noble Center, this time as head coach at Arkansas-Little Rock. Eduardo Najera was OU’ s big star back then, but a freshman named Hollis Price came off the bench with 15 points to lead the Sooners to a 80-56 victory for their eighth straight win to start the 1999-2000 season.
Loyola Chicago hired Moser as head coach four days after Kruger took the job at Oklahoma in 2011.
"“If you look at the standards that the programs at Oklahoma have set, there are reasons why they’ve won,” Moser said in a statement put out by the OU athletic department.“The coaches, infrastructure and community are all championship caliber. You just want to be a part of that,” he said. “To play in a premiere league like the Big 12 and be a part of this championship culture excites me.”"
In Moser’s last four seasons at Loyola, the Ramblers won 99 games, three Missouri Valley Conference championships, two conference tournament titles, six NCAA Tournament wins, two Sweet 16s, one Elite 8 and a regional championship and one Final Four.
Lon Kruger came along as the right man at the right time for Oklahoma basketball, and it appears that Moser is following right in line as the next man up.