Fire Porter Moser

[WichitaSooner]

Anyone comparing the last five years of Lon to this is just wrong. The last five years of Lon weren’t nearly as good as his first five. They definitely weren’t nearly as good as Kelvin, or Billy. But they were worlds ahead of what we are under Moser. The fact that this is even argued by anyone with a straight face is just weird to me.

And yes, plenty of very good coaches would jump at the chance to coach in one of the elite conferences in the country. Vanderbilt, Iowa, West Virginia, A&M and other schools with less basketball history and prestige have all made very good hires in the past couple years. Iowa State hired an amazing coach shortly after going winless in the Big 12. Indiana and Vandy in football made fantastic hires despite being among the worst programs in history. There are a lot of good coaches out there who would happily come coach in a great league, get a massive raise, and have a much bigger budget than they currently have, while being able to recruit better players. The question isn’t whether good coaches would be interested. It’s whether the next AD, or whoever makes the decision, is able to find the right guy. And that’s not an easy job, by any means. There are plenty of examples of seemingly great hires not panning out. But that’s an entirely different question than whether there are good coaches who would want the job.

 

[OUSKINS]

Splitting hairs Wichita…. Last five years of Lon marginally better. I’d agree if you asked me which set of five seasons was better… I’d vote Lon. However, ultimately both sets of years were marred by average-ish play and teams that were bubbling come March. The difference would probably be that Lon’s teams avoided some of the really embarrassing losses and floated more inside the bubble whereas Porter has floated more outside. But ultimately, same general neighbor, very little buzz around program, et.

 

[WichitaSooner]

Splitting hairs Wichita…. Last five years of Lon marginally better. I’d agree if you asked me which set of five seasons was better… I’d vote Lon. However, ultimately both sets of years were marred by average-ish play and teams that were bubbling come March. The difference would probably be that Lon’s teams avoided some of the really embarrassing losses and floated more inside the bubble whereas Porter has floated more outside. But ultimately, same general neighbor, very little buzz around program, et.

They made the tourney four times in five years. Moser will have missed it four times. Lon’s teams also never were truly on the bubble with maybe one exception. And they won tourney games in the last two years there was an NCAA tournament under Lon.

If a pro team made the playoffs four times in five years and another made it once in five years, no one would say those teams were the same. Like I said, no one is satisfied with the drop off from his first five years, but his second five years were much better than this crap.

 

[mict085]

He should be fired immediately. Unfortunately, that would mean Joe C hiring the next coach. I really don’t want Joe C hiring anymore coaches. We really need a GM for basketball that can help make these decisions. I wish we could run the basketball program like the football program is being run currently.

I’m afraid if we fire moser now and Joe C hires the next coach, it will be more of the same.

 

[SunshinePumper]

Moser should be out barring a rally by this team, but can we hire anyone decent?

Going to have to take a chance on someone with little experience, not proven, but hope they are hungry and can get the right players and win games

 

[sooner333]

He should be fired immediately. Unfortunately, that would mean Joe C hiring the next coach. I really don’t want Joe C hiring anymore coaches. We really need a GM for basketball that can help make these decisions. I wish we could run the basketball program like the football program is being run currently.

I’m afraid if we fire moser now and Joe C hires the next coach, it will be more of the same.

Maybe they’ll have an AD by March.

 

[OUSKINS]

They made the tourney four times in five years. Moser will have missed it four times. Lon’s teams also never were truly on the bubble with maybe one exception. And they won tourney games in the last two years there was an NCAA tournament under Lon.

If a pro team made the playoffs four times in five years and another made it once in five years, no one would say those teams were the same. Like I said, no one is satisfied with the drop off from his first five years, but his second five years were much better than this crap.

Trae team was a disaster. Got worse throughout the year. Snuck in tourney. The other teams that made it I guess were a little more solidly “in,” but still posed zero threat and made zero March noise. Again, the Porter teams have been maybe one step behind those teams in general. I consider the results to be same neighborhood.

Whoever they hire will be taking the job understanding they will receive little to no fan support or fun atmosphere to sell to recruits. They will be taking a job where they know there is no buzz or culture around the program whatsoever and that the new arena is likely beyond what they can count on in terms of timeframe. Now, it is still an SEC job, at a major school, that will almost certainly mark an upgrade in contract and NIL from wherever this coach is coming from. And yes, if you pick the right guy, I do think the program can win more games than they have the past 5-10 years. However, I am HIGHLY skeptical that anyone out there can sustain success in Norman beyond a brief peak. And I also think any young coach that takes the job is almost certainly taking it with their eye on the next one already… which is fine, can’t be afraid to hire someone because you think they will do really well and leave.

 

[snydrosooner]

I think 2 things can be true at once:

1. Barring a pretty unlikely turnaround to this season, it will be time to move on from Porter at season’s end. Assuming a non-tourney year, the results will more than warrant dismissal.

2. I have very little faith/hope that whoever we hire would do much better or sustain success. The last 5 years of Lon weren’t good either. It’s been 10 years now since we had a truly “good” team and also 10 years since our las sustained string of successful seasons. I don’t think anyone with options would sniff this job right now. So that means young up and comer looking for a stepping stone job, which would be fine.

But the program is at dead rock bottom now. I don’t think that is Porter’s fault. It has been sinking honestly for 25+ years for all the various reasons routinely discussed on the board. He was unable to change the trajectory and I guess you could argue he made things worse. I’m not sure about that, but he certainly wasn’t able to “save” or revive it.

Let’s be honest. No on cares. Not on a macro scale. While the team isn’t good, they had a decent record and won their first SEC game at home. Norman literally might be one of the only places in country (on any level) where the defending national champs would play in a half-empty arena.

Beyond attendance, the “buzz” or conscious level is at a 0. I am on a text chain with about 10 other dudes that went to OU. I’m the only guy who has watched a game this year or can name a player. And my attendance/interest has dropped over the years too. I switched from an OU season ticket holder to a Thunder season ticket holder in 2011 and haven’t looked back. Even with that though, I used to go to 7-10 games per year. That dwindled to around 5 the last few years. Now it’s down to maybe 3. And those 3 represent 3 more than just about everyone else I know.

And none of the above is “because” of Porter. I want to make that clear. All these trends existed well before he arrived. I guess the hope was he could get them to be a top 10-15 type team, which is the only way people even halfway tune in. And he came up well short of that. Whoever the next guy is will likely have an extremely hard time getting there too.

Agree. It started with end of Lon tenure with attendance starting to dwindle. It’s now at a point where someone like me who goes to several games a year did not want to go last night as figured we would not be competitive. Stay in games till last 5 minutes or so and even if you loose attendance will go up. Over in 1st 10 minutes, you loose people.

 

[WichitaSooner]

Trae team was a disaster. Got worse throughout the year. Snuck in tourney. The other teams that made it I guess were a little more solidly “in,” but still posed zero threat and made zero March noise. Again, the Porter teams have been maybe one step behind those teams in general. I consider the results to be same neighborhood.

Whoever they hire will be taking the job understanding they will receive little to no fan support or fun atmosphere to sell to recruits. They will be taking a job where they know there is no buzz or culture around the program whatsoever and that the new arena is likely beyond what they can count on in terms of timeframe. Now, it is still an SEC job, at a major school, that will almost certainly mark an upgrade in contract and NIL from wherever this coach is coming from. And yes, if you pick the right guy, I do think the program can win more games than they have the past 5-10 years. However, I am HIGHLY skeptical that anyone out there can sustain success in Norman beyond a brief peak. And I also think any young coach that takes the job is almost certainly taking it with their eye on the next one already… which is fine, can’t be afraid to hire someone because you think they will do really well and leave.

Loser is the only coach we have had in 50 years who hasn’t had success. Capel was terrible, don’t get me wrong. But at least he was able to get out of the way and let Blake do his thing and have one fantastic season. It’s ridiculous to say a coach can’t succeed at OU. How do you explain a coach succeeding at Vanderbilt? You think they had great fan support? Are they spending tens of millions on a roster? Good coaches win. Period.

 

[Boom Soon]

Trae team was a disaster. Got worse throughout the year. Snuck in tourney. The other teams that made it I guess were a little more solidly “in,” but still posed zero threat and made zero March noise. Again, the Porter teams have been maybe one step behind those teams in general. I consider the results to be same neighborhood.

Whoever they hire will be taking the job understanding they will receive little to no fan support or fun atmosphere to sell to recruits. They will be taking a job where they know there is no buzz or culture around the program whatsoever and that the new arena is likely beyond what they can count on in terms of timeframe. Now, it is still an SEC job, at a major school, that will almost certainly mark an upgrade in contract and NIL from wherever this coach is coming from. And yes, if you pick the right guy, I do think the program can win more games than they have the past 5-10 years. However, I am HIGHLY skeptical that anyone out there can sustain success in Norman beyond a brief peak. And I also think any young coach that takes the job is almost certainly taking it with their eye on the next one already… which is fine, can’t be afraid to hire someone because you think they will do really well and leave.

Agree with everything here.

 

[allday92]

Trae team was a disaster. Got worse throughout the year. Snuck in tourney. The other teams that made it I guess were a little more solidly “in,” but still posed zero threat and made zero March noise. Again, the Porter teams have been maybe one step behind those teams in general. I consider the results to be same neighborhood.

Whoever they hire will be taking the job understanding they will receive little to no fan support or fun atmosphere to sell to recruits. They will be taking a job where they know there is no buzz or culture around the program whatsoever and that the new arena is likely beyond what they can count on in terms of timeframe. Now, it is still an SEC job, at a major school, that will almost certainly mark an upgrade in contract and NIL from wherever this coach is coming from. And yes, if you pick the right guy, I do think the program can win more games than they have the past 5-10 years. However, I am HIGHLY skeptical that anyone out there can sustain success in Norman beyond a brief peak. And I also think any young coach that takes the job is almost certainly taking it with their eye on the next one already… which is fine, can’t be afraid to hire someone because you think they will do really well and leave.

Well said. The downward trend definitely started under Lon, and Porter was not able to change course. It's time.

Couldn't agree more on the second part. I'm not sure what coach is best fit for this program at this moment in time. While I don't like the idea, this is why it may need to be someone from the Sampson tree. Someone the program can relate to at a time the program had success and an alum who may be wired to turn this thing all the way around.

 

[BoulderSooner]

Loser is the only coach we have had in 50 years who hasn’t had success. Capel was terrible, don’t get me wrong. But at least he was able to get out of the way and let Blake do his thing and have one fantastic season. It’s ridiculous to say a coach can’t succeed at OU. How do you explain a coach succeeding at Vanderbilt? You think they had great fan support? Are they spending tens of millions on a roster? Good coaches win. Period.

cosign

 

[austing7]

Curious to hear thoughts on this… but who in your minds would be the best possible hire we could make?

 

[WTSooner]

Well said. The downward trend definitely started under Lon, and Porter was not able to change course. It's time.

Couldn't agree more on the second part. I'm not sure what coach is best fit for this program at this moment in time. While I don't like the idea, this is why it may need to be someone from the Sampson tree. Someone the program can relate to at a time the program had success and an alum who may be wired to turn this thing all the way around.

I've pushed for Kellen in the past, but he is the only guy from that tree that is remotely ready, and I honestly don't think he will leave Houston. They have a good thing going there, he gets to work with his dad, his mom, and his sister every day. It keeps his kid(s) close to his family. He is the HC in waiting whenever Kelvin decides to step down. And while I don't think OU's problems are money related, Houston is certainly pouring more into basketball than us right now.

Hollis isn't even a bench coach and Quannis is in his first year as a HC at Louisiana. Neither OU worthy at this time.

 

[allday92]

Curious to hear thoughts on this… but who in your minds would be the best possible hire we could make?

Jerrod Calhoun - Utah St. is who I'd want. I'd ask Mark Byington or Hoiberg, but would expect them to turn down the job.

 

[greenbug]

Curious to hear thoughts on this… but who in your minds would be the best possible hire we could make?

I like Josh Schertz from Saint Louis

 

[SoonerBounce13]

ill tell you one thing...Tyler Neal isn't earning fans with his bball takes during and after the game last night.

 

[opsooner]

I've pushed for Kellen in the past, but he is the only guy from that tree that is remotely ready, and I honestly don't think he will leave Houston. They have a good thing going there, he gets to work with his dad, his mom, and his sister every day. It keeps his kid(s) close to his family. He is the HC in waiting whenever Kelvin decides to step down. And while I don't think OU's problems are money related, Houston is certainly pouring more into basketball than us right now.

Hollis isn't even a bench coach and Quannis is in his first year as a HC at Louisiana. Neither OU worthy at this time.

Yes, I have some sources who have said Kelvin has told Kellen to stay away from OU anyway. But I agree with the other things you listed as well.

 

[greenbug]

Jerrod Calhoun - Utah St. is who I'd want. I'd ask Mark Byington or Hoiberg, but would expect them to turn down the job.

I like Calhoun

 

[WichitaSooner]

Majerus in his current state would be a better option than Moser. Let one of the players coach the team. Do a promotion and let a fan coach. Just get Moser off our bench and out of our program.

I have touted Schwartz for a couple years. Calhoun also looks promising.