THE MODERATOR: We welcome Porter Moser from Oklahoma to the stage.
PORTER MOSER: Pleasure to be here. I want to commend everybody out there, with everybody with the SEC Media Day, that I am 32 of 32, that you guys have amazing resiliency, persistence and dedication to your job. I know you want me to say an opening statement, but I know you've probably heard a million of the same things.
I'm super excited with my team. I leaned into the portal with grace, confidence and optimism. We've had a great start of the season. I'm looking forward to get going.
With that, I'll open it up to questions.
Q. How would you describe your first ride through the SEC last year?
PORTER MOSER: I've been asked that a lot. I just joked with some people out there. The four years I've been at Oklahoma, I've been in the number one rated basketball conference all four years. I'm Tony Gwynn, I'm four for four.
Looking at what the SEC signed this year, I'm going to be Ichiro. I'm going to be five for five.
I think the thing that you have to have, when you're in a league this loaded, there's got to be some resiliency with your team through tough times. That's what we had last year. I really thought we were playing our best at the end through some adversity, coming back and really having a great run at the end. Just to talk with our guys about those life lessons...
This league is deep. I think it's where everyone wants to go. I was asked a question earlier about how hard it is to get your guys ready to play or play in the SEC. I said, It's not hard, it's where they want to be. The best stage, the best players, the most players drafted the last five years, go on and on. The players want to be in this league, but they got to be ready.
It is a resilient run of 18 straight plus the tournament.
Q. Obviously Sister Jean, everyone saw her role, what she did for you. What are the things that maybe people don't know, your fondest memories?
PORTER MOSER: My fondest memories, Sister Jean, she meant everything to all of us before she became in her words the international star, not the national star.
We had to park in a parking garage about a hundred yards from our arena. That's where her office was. She lived across the street from the parking garage. At 98 years old. The whole country saw her in a wheelchair. I never knew her in a wheelchair until that winter the Final Four year. She was always running around in her Nike shoes. The back of one said Sister and the other one said Jean.
I remember coming out one night. I was making recruiter calls. It had to be 8:30 at night. I was coming out, and it was cold. Really, really cold. She lived in the dorms by herself self-sufficient. When you think about that, people all your lives, they get to a certain age, assisted living, whatever, she's 98, by herself living in the dorms with the students.
I remember walking out. She had her bag. She's hopping across. I said, Sister, jump in, I'll take you a across the street.
She's like, No, no, this is great for me.
It had to be 10 degrees. I remember her, smile on her face. I remember her being such a basketball fan. She loved my kids. But I remember she sat behind my kids, my kids always joke about this, when my kids were about this big, she shhh'd my kids.
They're making noise.
Shh, I'm trying to watch the game.
She was a huge fan of the game. As my heart is so sad, I talked to her on her 106th birthday. I went back for her 105th birthday party. I took my team to Chicago last year. She prayed with my team at Oklahoma. We were her second favorite team.
As my heart is sad, it's also joy and gratitude that she was in my life. I vibe with energetic, positive people. I'll never meet someone who had such a positive attitude and poured that attitude into other people more than Sister Jean. I was blessed to be her friend. I fly from here to be there at the celebration tomorrow morning.
Q. How do you replace a guy like Jeremiah Fears with everything that he brought to you?
PORTER MOSER: Yeah, replacing Jeremiah... Jeremiah, man, he got better and better and better. Such a dynamic speed for the SEC. That's what I look at. He brought us such speed.
But I think we went out in the portal and got two older guards that have been on the stage a lot. Nijel Pack, he's been All-Big 12. He's played on the stage of a Final Four. I know this, having coached guys that have been to the Final Four, like Cameron Krutwig, Lucas Williamson, Clayton Custer. When they come back, it's not like they're satisfied. They want that again. I have that veteran hunger that Nijel brings.
And then we went and got Xzayvier Brown, another veteran in the back court. Played at St. Joe's. Great league in the A-10. Was First Team All-League there.
I got a back court that have been First Team All-Conference in two different, very good leagues.
I know the combination of them -- and Dayton Forsythe played a lot last year for us. He's another combo point guard that we have. I'll say this about Dayton. Not that I'm trying to help his NIL because there's Sparky, Sparkplugs, that's what his nickname is. Not a lot of freshmen that came off the bench last year and had three double-figure games. I don't think there are 10 of them. I think he's a guy that got valuable experience last year.
It's going to be by committee. I think we got some veteran guys, then another guy that was here last year that played, that are all ready to come in and fill that role.
Q. How important is it to find guys that have won? Derrion Reid from Alabama, obviously. What does that do for your program?
PORTER MOSER: Well, I think it's an interesting dynamic. People in the portal want something different, right? There's a lot of different things. But you also have guys that tasted winning, they want that again, too.
There's been so much talk about the last four years in the portal. I'm just all about leaning into it. Everyone came to me. They said, You were at a program at Loyola where you developed guys. This has to be driving you crazy. I went through that time period.
Now I'm completely leaning into it. You get a freshness about getting new guys. You get an enthusiasm of guys coming on your campus the first time, getting ready for a new situation.
I've leaned into these four guys. They all played at a high level. That was important to me. Winning mattered to all four of 'em. That was important to me.
I wanted to add length. Going night in, night out of the SEC, that's the first thing you really notice is the length, athleticism and talent of the SEC. Adding Tae Davis at 6'9", Derrion Reid at 6'8", gives you two very versatile guards. Then we have the two guards I just spoke about.
I think that's what we leaned into. Guys that have been on that stage that are not going to have this huge adjustment period going against the SEC. Then combining with some guys that were in your program.
I think one guy I was just talking about is Mo Wague. Mo Wague is a guy that I'm hoping picks up where he left off. When Sam Godwin got hurt last year, Mo played those last five games. 20 minutes a game he averaged nine and six. Those were all high-level games: Missouri, Texas, Georgia, Kentucky, UConn. Mo averages nine and seven 20 minutes a game. Having him come back is going to be pick up where he left off. I love how he's been.
Q. How valuable is it now you do have the time in the summer when you are putting together a roster with so many newcomers that they have time to bond and gel?
PORTER MOSER: I think the last thing you said was the key, is bonding and gelling. Guys nowadays, I look at the guys that we signed in the portal, you don't have to beg 'em to get in the gym. They're going to be in the gym, live in the gym. Guys nowadays, if you got to worry about guys getting in the gym and working...
It's more about having them come together because you've got to form a bond to that when distractions start happening during the season, a loss or whatever it may be, they come together. That's why it's important.
I can't imagine them not getting together and all of a sudden in September they're getting together. So to me it's more important. We can all say the practice time, I love it, I'm a practice guy. But they're going to get in the gym. They're going to work out. We're limited in hours anyways. It's that time together hanging out, spending that time in the summer, getting to know each other so they can create a bond faster than when we come back in the fall.
THE MODERATOR: Coach, thank you for your time this afternoon.
PORTER MOSER: Thank you, guys.
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