Porter Moser believes De’Vion Harmon will return next season
By Chip Rouse
New Oklahoma basketball coach Porter Moser has had a busy week getting acclimated to his new Sooner environment and responsibilities.
Earlier this week he arrived to a warm welcome at the Max Westheimer Airport in Norman, and on Wednesday was publicly introduced at a press conference at Lloyd Noble Center.
From the moment Moser set foot in the birthplace of the Sooner sports nation, he noted, “Those that don’t know Porter Moser soon will.” And in his first week on the job, he is already making positive news with his actions.
On the same days as his introductory media briefing, Moser announced his first player commitment in the 2021 class, a three-star point guard, Alston Mason, who averaged over 20 points a game at Blue Valley Northwest High School in Overland Park, Kansas.
And on Friday, in an interview on the “Total Sports” program on SportsTalk 1400 radio in Norman, Moser revealed even bigger news, indicating that he believes De’Vion Harmon, the Sooners’ second-leading scorer this past season, will return for 2021-22.
The high energy and excitement the new head of the Sooner men’s basketball program brings to the jog was readily apparent at his introductory press conference. And to the casual observer, you couldn’t help but come away with a good feeling that athletic director Joe Castiglione and OU had landed the right guy and the right fit for Oklahoma basketball moving forward.
Moser did not sidestep the elephant in the room at Wednesday’s press gathering, acknowledging that a major priority right out of the gate is to fill out the open roster sports created by anticipated departures of several players due to NBA Draft declarations as well as transfer decisions.
He also said that he has hit the ground running, already engaged in recruiting activities and, first and foremost, having conversations and beginning to build relationships with the current players on the roster, including those. like senior Brady Manek, who are still considering all of their future options.
Harmon had announced after OU’s season ended in the NCAA Tournament loss to Gonzaga and upon learning of Lon Kruger’s retirement that he was declaring for the NBA Draft.
In the Friday radio interview with program host James Hale and Steve Marshall, Moser said,
"“I’ve had many conversations with De’Vion. I know he hasn’t formally said it, but all signs point to that De’Vion’s going to come back."
“We’ve had a great rapport here since I got the job,” the new Sooner head coach said. “I think he excited. We’ve really talked about all our goals aligning. And so I fully expect De’Vion to come back.”
If Moser’s gut feeling pans out, that will be fantastic news looking ahead to next college basketball season.
And that gives me the feeling that this isn’t the only good news we’ll be hearing from the new Oklahoma head coach as, in his own words, we “get 100 percent from Porter Moser every single day.”