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Oklahoma basketball: New coach Porter Moser adds final piece to 2021-22 roster

By Chip Rouse

INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA - MARCH 20: The Oklahoma Sooners celebrate after defeating the Missouri Tigers in the first round game of the 2021 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at Lucas Oil Stadium on March 20, 2021 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images)
INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA - MARCH 20: The Oklahoma Sooners celebrate after defeating the Missouri Tigers in the first round game of the 2021 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at Lucas Oil Stadium on March 20, 2021 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images) /
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The Oklahoma basketball roster, depleted by more than half by transfers, graduation and NBA pursuits after the 2020-21 season, is now whole again.

New head coach Porter Moser added to the 2021 recruiting class, extending the Sooners’ final scholarship offer for next season to Marvin Johnson, a graduate transfer from Eastern Illinois. Johnson, who is from the Sooner State, announced his verbal commitment on Sunday.

The 6-foot, 6-inch forward  played two years at Coffeyville (Kansas) Junior College before transferring to Eastern Illinois in 2019. He played in 26 games last season for EIU, starting in 22, and averaged 15.3 points and 4.7 assists per game. He scored in double figures in 23 of the 26 games.

Johnson was born in Ardmore, Oklahoma, and went to high school in the Oklahoma City suburb of Edmond, where he helped lead Edmond North High School to a state championship in 2017.

In two seasons at Coffeyville, Johnson averaged 14 points and four rebounds per game and was rated as the No, 25 JUCO prospect in the country. Last season for Eastern Illinois, was an All-Ohio Valley Conference selection and finished in the top 10 in the conference in scoring.

After Oklahoma’s loss to eventual national champion Gonzaga in the NCAA Basketball Tournament in March and the announcement of the retirement of head coach Lon Kruger after 10 seasons in Norman, nine Sooners elected to leave the program, including Austin Reaves, the team’s leading scorer this past season, who declared for the NBA Draft.

Since his hiring in early April as Kruger’s replacement, Moser has signed six transfers to go along with three incoming freshman recruits.

The transfers include Johnson, Tanner and Jacob Groves from Eastern Washington, former Duke guard Jordan Goldwire, SMU forward Ethan Chargois and JUCO star Akol Mawein.

OU returns just four players from the 2020-21 roster: guards Umoja Gibson and Elijah Harkless, forward Jalen Hill and 7-foot Rick Issanza.

It will be almost an entirely new look for Oklahoma basketball next season, including the Sooners’ third head coach in the past decade.

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