No, for real this time, OU basketball is set. The roster for the Sooners’ first season heading into the SEC is locked down.
The leader is back. Sources confirm Jalon Moore has withdrawn from the NBA Draft and will return to OU. Wednesday was the deadline for college players to make that move.
Moore announced April 6 he was entering the Draft, but he never entered the transfer portal. He also was keeping his eligibility with OU. So as you see some panic and chaos as guys are hitting the portal or staying the Draft, OU knew the score here.
Moore would test out the waters, take in the information on what he needs to get better at next season and be the face of the Sooners.
All of that has gone to plan. Head coach Porter Moser has his team.
“We talk all the time,” said Moser on Tuesday in Florida. “He has really gone through this process. Worked out through this process. Jalon, we talk all the time. He set out to do this process to learn a lot. I know he has.
“He’s everything you love about the sport. The way he works, way he got better. He doubled his numbers. Improved every part of his game. One of the more competitive kids I’ve ever coached. So competitive and intense. That will be great.”
Moore is the best example of someone getting incredibly better at OU than his previous stop. Moore averaged 7.6 points and 4.7 rebounds per game as a sophomore at Georgia Tech.
His one season at OU? A massive jump everywhere. Moore averaged 11.2 points, 6.7 rebounds, a block. He shot 52 percent from the field, 73 percent from the free throw line and 41 percent from 3-point territory.
Down the stretch, Moore and Rivaldo Soares were the easy picks about who the heart and soul of the Sooners were.
Soares, unfortunately, is done with college ball. But Moore? One more season to make it count at OU and hopefully guide the Sooners to their first NCAA Tournament appearance under Moser.
OU portal commitments
Jeff Nwankwo, F, Cowley County (juco) (2 years)
The line: 18.6 ppg, 7.0 rebs, 1.1 assts, 1.4 steals, 0.2 blocks, 49% FG, 37% 3-pt, 74% FT
Now this is a journey to OU basketball. Starting as a local product at Putnam City North and going the football route to Tulane. Leaving the sport and going junior college to play basketball. Becoming a star in that department to committing to Cal last month. To coming back home to play the Sooners. That is a journey for Nwankwo, and OU is glad to have him be the final piece to the puzzle. Head coach Porter Moser tried incredibly hard to bring a local kid home, turned out to be Nwankwo. His athletic ability should be a huge addition to the squad.
Mohamed Wague, F/C, Alabama (1 season)
The line: 3.1 ppg, 2.5 rebs, 0.5 assts, 0.5 blocks, 0.5 steals, 63% FG, 50% 3-pt, 75% FT
Now you know the combo. It’s going to be Sam Godwin and Wague at the center position for OU to go along with Luke Northweather and Jalon Moore. Size and athletic ability has clearly been what OU has been aiming for in the portal. Wague gives them both if he can play at a high level. Wague was a three-star recruit by On3 for the transfer rankings. A legitimate 6-foot-10, it will be interesting if OU can get more offensive production from Wague than what he has shown.
Duke Miles, G, High Point (2 seasons)
The line: 17.5 ppg, 2.4 rebs, 3.5 assts, 0.2 blocks, 1.3 steals, 53% FG, 36% 3-pt, 80% FT
This is the type of win OU fans had been waiting for, hoping for. The kind of portal win that resonates and gets people fired up. Miles is a top-100 transfer prospect, and the way it came together? Just didn’t sound like OU. He’s an Alabama kid, who had just finished his Auburn visit Wednesday. Here comes OU in from like the backdoor in the 11th hour to steal someone else’s hometown kid. The Sooners had certainly seen that a time or two or three during this cycle. Miles is a perfect combo guard and brings a lot to the table.
Brycen Goodine, G, Fairfield (1 season)
The line: 13.9 ppg, 3 rebs, 1.4 assts, 0.3 blocks, 0.8 steals, 50% FG, 47% 3-pt, 76% FT
That is not a misprint. Goodine shot 47 percent from 3-point territory and is a volume shooter. You can see how OU is attempting to spread the floor a lot more. Goodine averaged more than five 3-pointers attempted per game and shot at that clip. He had scoring games of 40 points and 37 points last season. Goodine had four games of making at six 3-pointers. From Syracuse to Providence to Fairfield now to OU. Definitely will bring the experience, and OU fans will be hoping he’ll bring that type of shooting one more season. Goodine is now signed.
Jadon Jones, G, Long Beach State (1 season)
The line: 12.1 ppg, 3.3 rebs, 1.6 assts, 1.8 steals, 1.0 blocks, 42% FG, 38% 3-pt, 85% FT
OU is focusing hard on two-way players. Looking for the 3-and-D type of player. Jones checks those boxes (now signed), a former Defensive Player of the Year in the Big West. Jones connected on 77 3-pointers last season, shooting the 38 percent rate. The 77 makes? That’s 23 more than the most by an OU player last year (Javian McCollum, 54). Jones is one of nine players ever in the NCAA in the last 30 years to have at least 60 steals, more than 30 blocks and make at least 75 3-pointers in a season. He joins the likes of Shane Battier, Kevin Durant, Danny Green, among others.
Kobe Elvis, G, Dayton (1 season)
The line: 9.4 ppg, 2.4 rebs, 3.5 assts, 0.6 steals, 38% FG, 37% 3-pt, 85% FT
If nothing else, Elvis becomes the first player on the team with NCAA Tournament experience. Elvis was part of a Dayton squad that reached the second round of the Big Dance last month. He has plenty of experience and averaged nearly 30 minutes per game. Elvis is someone who knows how to operate in a ball-screen offense. A solid, complementary piece. Elvis is signed.
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