All of a sudden, Oklahoma men's basketball coach Porter Moser has an abundance of riches to build his next starting lineup for the 2026-27 season.
The Sooners, within a week, added two potential starters to the roster thanks to the 5-in-5 chaos ensuing throughout college sports. That obviously completely transformed the expected lineup from this spring, when it looked like OU was finished making any major moves.
On Wednesday, former Villanova big man Duke Brennan committed to Oklahoma for his unexpected fifth season thanks to a federal judge ruling earlier this month. The week before, SMU guard B.J. Edwards was in the same situation and also decided to finish his career as a Sooner. Both should at least compete for a starting job, with Brennan feeling like a lock in the lineup.
Those late additions made the Sooners' starting lineup more complicated to predict because Moser actually has options now, which wasn't really the case the past few seasons. That also means OU's lineup might not be as consistent as it was last year, as
What the Sooners' starting lineup should look like this season
Even with all these new stellar additions, Xzayvier Brown will still be the engine of this OU team while running the point. He returns for his second year with the Sooners after averaging 15.4 points, 3.3 assists and 3.2 rebounds last season. He's the highest returning scorer Moser has ever brought back while at the helm for OU.
Before the past week, Pop Isaacs seemed to be the Sooners' best get from the transfer portal. He's one of the most experienced guards in college basketball with 100 games and 74 starts under his belt between stops at Texas A&M, Creighton and Texas Tech. He also gave the Sooners some help beyond the arc as a career 34.9% three-point shooter.
The Sooners already had coveted experienced guard play, which is crucial in the NCAA Tournament, but now they're overflowing with it thanks to B.J. Edwards, who had 93 career starts at SMU and started his career at Tennessee when the Volunteers made the Sweet 16. He just averaged a career-high 12.7 points, but he's at his best on the other end of the floor as a member of the ACC All-Defensive Team in 2024. He was also an All-ACC Honorable Mention last season.
Porter Moser went the most alternative route and plucked Akoldah Gak from the NBA G League. Gak, listed at 6-foot-11, immediately seemed like the Sooners' answer at center before Duke Brennan entered the conversation. Still, he's versatile and athletic enough to play the 4 and give Oklahoma a towering lineup with two massive bigs if Moser goes this way. Michigan just won a national title starting three bigs, and OU fans have also witnessed this lineup work down the road for the OKC Thunder.
Gak is the only one in this lineup without college experience, but he played three years of pro ball in Australia and two more in the G League. There's some unknown about what the Sooners are getting with Gak, but he could also emerge as the star of the team.
This also shows how loaded this roster is now. It feels unimaginable that returning starter Derrion Reid isn't in the lineup here, and he very well could be if Moser doesn't go with size. He could also start over B.J. Edwards.
The new guy on the block (literally), Duke Brennan's proven experience should make him an immediate starter at center to play inside more than Gak. You also need Brennan around the rim as one of the best rebounders in the country.
Brennan, listed at 6-foot-10, just finished his lone season at Villanova, where he earned Third-Team All-Big East honors after starting 32 games. He averaged a double-double with 12.4 points and 10.3 rebounds a game. He also spent time at Grand Canyon and Arizona State.
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