In his move to keep head coach Porter Moser for at least one more season, Oklahoma athletic director Roger Denny also promised more resources for the men's basketball program to succeed, and he's proving to be a man of his word.
News broke Saturday that OU is set to hire Lucas McKay from Clemson to serve as the men's basketball program's first general manager to be in charge of assembling a roster for Moser that can reach the level of expectations the Sooners have. McKay joins OU great and Washington Wizards guard Trae Young, who was named assistant general manager and donated $1 million this time last year in the first effort to get Moser's program to the next level.
Oklahoma hires Lucas McKay as GM in effort to bolster Porter Moser's program
McKay was most recently Clemson's GM and assembled rosters that had the Tigers in the NCAA Tournament the last three seasons, including a run to the Elite Eight in 2024.
The Sooners have made the NCAA Tournament just once in five years under Moser after just barely sneaking in last season before losing to UConn in the first round. This season, OU was the first team left out of the NCAA Tournament and ended up in the College Basketball Crown, where the Sooners lost to West Virginia in the championship on Sunday.
Those results have had fans frustrated with the program under Moser, but Denny also made it clear recently that Moser hasn't been given a fair chance based on the resources he's getting compared to other SEC programs, particularly when it comes to NIL funds to lure talent. When Denny announced that Moser would return, he promised more resources for the program to succeed.
It's still unknown how much money is going toward the program to finance talent, but adding a GM to the mix is really a bigger step in the right direction than any lump sum.
OU is obviously serious about its football program so swung big when it hired Jim Nagy as its GM last year. The Sooners immediately went from 6-7 with head coach Brent Venables on the hot seat, to 10-3 and in the College Football Playoff. And the future looks even brighter as the Sooners currently have the No. 1 2027 recruiting class in the country.
Denny getting the basketball program its own GM proved he's actually going to get the program close to the same assets as football and a fair chance to compete. But even with Denny so far holding up his end of the deal, it's still on Moser to produce the results with less excuses than ever before.