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Oklahoma basketball: Sooner men finally have 2023-24 transfer coming rather than going

By Chip Rouse

Nov 24, 2022; Orlando, FL, USA; Siena Saints guard Javian McCollum (2) shoots against the Florida State Seminoles during the first half at ESPN Wide World of Sports. Mandatory Credit: Rich Storry-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 24, 2022; Orlando, FL, USA; Siena Saints guard Javian McCollum (2) shoots against the Florida State Seminoles during the first half at ESPN Wide World of Sports. Mandatory Credit: Rich Storry-USA TODAY Sports /
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Eight members of the men’s Oklahoma basketball team have left the program since the Sooners’ final game of the 2023 season. On Wednesday, they welcomed a new player in the door instead of going out.

OU added its first incoming transfer for the 2023-24 season with the commitment of former Siena guard Javian McCollum. The problem is the outgoing number of transfers from the 2022-23 Sooner men’s roster is at seven, which has forced head coach Porter Moser to turn to the transfer portal in a major way for a third straight offseason in order to replenish and fill out the roster.

McCollum played two seasons under Rick Pitino at Siena. He started 25 games this past season and averaged 15.6 points and 3.9 assists per game. He shot 43 percent from the field and 35.6 from three-point range.

The 6-foot, 2-inch guard is rated by 247Sports as the 10th-best remaining player in the transfer portal. A number of programs showed interest in McCollum once his name hit the portal, but the final decision came down to Nebraska, South Florida and OU. He made an official visit to Oklahoma two weeks ago and reportedly visited Nebraska this past weekend.

McCollum, who hails from Ft. Meyers, Florida, will likely pair with soon-to-be sophomore Milos Uzan in the Sooner backcourt. The Sooners’ leading scorer from last season, Grant Sherfield, was one of the OU outgoing transfers.

In addition to McCollum, Moser and his staff, including new assistant Armon Gates, have entertained visits by four other transfer prospects the past couple of weekends, which means we could be hearing additional player announcements over the next week or two when the transfer portal window officially closes (April 30).

In his first season as OU head coach, Moser brought in seven transfers to replenish a roster that was down to just four scholarship players. Ahead of this past season, he brought in four transfers. The Sooners still have five open scholarships to fill, according to Eli Lederman of the Tulsa World.

Moser knows that the coming season will be vitally important for OU men’s basketball as well as his future with the team. The Sooners are 34-33 overall in Moser’s first two seasons, but just 12-24 in the Big 12.

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