Oklahoma basketball: Sooners add a big man in former Pitt forward John Hugley IV

Men’s Oklahoma basketball picked up its second transfer addition in less than 24 hours on Thursday.

Sooner head coach Porter Moser announced a transfer commitment for the 2023-24 season from 6-foot, 9-inch, 265-pound forward/center John Hugley IV. Hugley played three seasons at Pittsburgh, but just eight last season due to a knee injury.

His best season at Pitt was his sophomore season (2021-22), when he averaged 14.8 points and 7.9 rebounds per game in just under 30 minutes of action. Hugley averaged 8.0 points and 3.6 rebounds in the injury-shortened 2022-23 season. After the injury, he elected to shut things down for the remainder of the season to focus both his physical rehab and mental health.

Hugley was one of the three transfers to visit OU over the past weekend. He followed the visit to Norman with one to Ole Miss, but the Sooner coaches felt he was leaning toward the Sooners. That became more clear when he cancelled a subsequent visit to West Virginia.

“I chose Oklahoma because it felt like home,” Hugley told On3.com. “From the time I left campus it was just all love.”

The Sooners have huge roster needs, losing eight players off last season’s roster, seven of those choosing to enter the transfer portal. OU lost five guards to the portal, including leading scorer Grant Sherfield. It became patently apparent this past season, that the Sooners greatest need was athletic big men and particularly in the post area.

A native of Cleveland, Ohio, Hugley should be a big addition to the Sooner roster next season (pun intended). With 10 more days before the transfer window closes, Moser and his staff are hopeful of adding several more additions to the roster. OU reportedly has four more basketball scholarships available.