In their SEC home opener against Texas A&M, OU men’s basketball aims to address their rebounding issues.
NORMAN— Porter Moser, the coach of Oklahoma, hasn’t really considered the idea that he’s getting ready to play a school where he first started.
Moser, a former coach at Texas A&M, has been plagued by the Sooners’ impressive rebounding performance in their crushing defeat to Alabama last Saturday. OU gave up 22 offensive rebounds and was outscored 51-26 on the boards.
Moser’s squad must now turn around and take on the Aggies, who are coached by Buzz Williams and are ranked first in offensive rebounds per game and seventh in the country in rebounding margin.
Moser remarked, “Obviously, it’s an issue with us,” “We have previously faced some of the top 20 rebounding teams. When it’s not minus ten or whatever the score is on the boards, we have a shot. Arizona and Michigan were up there, and we showed our guys. Literally, A&M is the greatest in the nation.
Moser has frequently quoted quotes from his mentor, former Saint Louis coach Rick Majerus, since he joined Oklahoma in 2021. He remembered some of Majerus’s sage advice for recovering this week.
You must smash the glass if you are a guard on the perimeter; you cannot just sit there and watch.
“You can’t play 13 minutes and have one rebound,” Moser stated. “No, you can’t. Additionally, we have challenged and called out men. Every guard contributes to the fact that you cannot play these kinds of minutes and not pull down rebounds.
The Sooners’ veteran guards have responded to the challenge.
“It’s not only just relying on big men, it’s got to be guards, too,” redshirt senior guard Duke Miles said. “Rebounding is a team thing. … It’s going to take me, (Kobe Elvis), (Jeremiah Fears), man, everybody. It’s going to take the whole team so we’re going to go down there (in the paint) and we’re going to fight.”
Last Saturday’s dismal rebounding performance resulted in an open film session first thing Monday morning. If not for NCAA rules, Moser would have practiced on Sunday after returning from Tuscaloosa, Alabama.
Sixth-year senior guard Brycen Goodine said Monday was the team’s greatest practice of the season, and Moser was pleased with their response.
“We have a mature team,” Goodine stated Monday on Sooner Sports Talk. “The beauty of basketball is the next game comes around fast and we get a chance to face a new challenge. We did a good job attacking that.
In his nearly 35-year coaching career, Moser will be playing Texas A&M for the first time on Wednesday night. He met his wife, an Aggies graduate, while serving two stints as an assistant coach in College Station, Texas.
Moser will have one goal in mind when Texas A&M arrives at the Lloyd Noble Center on Wednesday at 8 p.m.
“Honestly, it’s been 72 hours of being p—– about rebounding,” Moser stated. “So that’s the storyline.”
