Oklahoma men's basketball coach Porter Moser said it himself that the Sooners have to win recruiting battles now to win games in March.
Although the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament is just tipping off, the college basketball transfer portal already opened on Monday, and OU's early exit at least lets Moser and his staff focus all their time and resources on bringing talent to Norman.
The Sooners have lost three to the transfer portal so far, plus nine players who exhausted their eligibility and freshman Jeremiah Fears likely headed to the NBA. That leaves OU almost an entire roster to replinish, especially needing multiple bigs, a point guard and a shooter.
With the early jump, here are five players the Sooners already need to be after.
Donovan Dent, PG, New Mexico
Every program in the country should be after Donovan Dent, including OU. He's the best player available in the transfer portal, so there will obviously be a lot of competition, but Moser has to land one of these big fish eventually to get the Sooners relevant again.
If it sounds far-fetched for OU to get the top player, football and softball got the best players from the portal during the offseasons, and women's basketball just landed the No. 1 recruit in the country. Moser so far is the only coach on campus without a big catch, so he better get to reeling.
Magoon Gwath, F/C, San Diego State
The Sooners were desperate for size and rebounding this season and will be again in their second season in the SEC. Magoon Gwath would certainly add a giant presence that's been missing as a 7-foot forward. He averaged 8.5 points and 5.2 rebounds as a freshman for San Diego State.
Gwath is also from Euless, Texas, so OU could lure him closer to home.
Christoph Tilly, C, Santa Clara
This is the perfect prospect for Moser to jump on. Cristoph Tilly is another 7-foot center who averaged 12.5 points and 4.9 rebounds last season as a junior. Even better, he's from Germany, and international students can't receive NIL, so that erases Moser's excuse of lack of funds.
Josh Dix, SG, Iowa
Having a shooter like Brycen Goodine was a game-changer for OU at times, but now he'll be gone. Josh Dix might be the best shooter in the portal. As a massive 6-foot-6 guard to also add more size to OU's lineup, Dix shot 42.2% from the 3-point line this season while averaging 14.4 points.
Adrian Wooley, G, Kennesaw State
Adrian Wooley could be a guy to come in and immediately take over as a 6-foot-5 combo guard. He averaged 18.8 points and 5.2 rebounds as a freshman while making 51.2% of his shots. He'll be sought after, but could also be cheaper than some coming from Kennesaw State.