Oklahoma basketball: Sooners bolster roster with Duke transfer
By Chip Rouse
Roster fortification for 2021-22 is well underway for men’s Oklahoma basketball, and the Sooners picked up another player from the transfer portal on Monday.
Former Duke player Jordan Goldwire has committed to play for the Sooners next season as a graduate transfer. He joins brothers Tanner and Jacob Groves from Eastern Washington, who just 24 hours before announced their plans to transfer to OU.
With six Sooners from the 2020-21 team having either declared their intent to turn pro or have entered the transfer portal, new Oklahoma head coach Porter Moser acknowledged during his introductory press conference that his initial priority was to re-recruit existing roster players as well as those committed to OU, while also adding to the roster as needed.
In the last few days, we’ve seen those works transformed into immediate action, and the new head coach may not be done in filling out the roster for next season.
Goldwire played four seasons for legendary coach Mike Krzyzewski at Duke. This past season, he played in 24 games, 12 as a starter, and averaged 5.8 points and 4.2 assists per game. He was a First-Team All-ACC defensive selection and ranked in the top-five in the conference with 54 steals.
The 6-foot, 2-inch guard will bring plenty of valuable experience playing in the highly competitive Atlantic Coast Conference and should help strengthen the Sooners on the defensive end. He is taking advantage of the NCAA one-time waiver granting student-athletes an extra year of eligibility because of the COVID-19 pandemic year.
The Tulsa World reported on Monday that, according to the Fayetteville (North Carolina) Observer, Goldwire received 42 Division I offers and selected Oklahoma over Oregon State, Wichita State, Utah, BYU and Texas Tech.