John Calipari praises Porter Moser for his 'best job ever' amid OU basketball turnaround
NASHVILLE — Earlier this season, John Calipari picked up the phone and rang one of his fellow Catholic coaches.
It’d been a tough year for Oklahoma’s Porter Moser and Calipari — the Arkansas coach and legend in the sport — wanted to remind his friend who he was.
“This may be your best job ever of coaching,” Calipari told Moser.
Moser has seen it all this season. From a nine-game losing streak, which included “fire Moser” chants inside his home arena, to a stunning turnaround catapulting the Sooners into the NCAA Tournament conversation .
Fan apathy was legit during the skid. Things seemed to be trending in the direction of Moser not being around next season. And then the past few weeks happened.
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OU won six straight games and eight of its last 10. Who knows if it’ll be enough to get it in the tourney.
But, say what you want about Moser’s tenure as a whole, he inspired a group of players to believe even when the going is rough and when no one else sees a path.
“He is one of the good guys in our profession,” Calipari said. “You all know his career, what he's done. I say when you have a guy like him, then administration's got to do their thing and put around him. I always say coaches win games. Administrations win championships. I've said that for as long as I've coached.
“We can do our thing, but they are going to win a championship because they choose to. They choose to invest in it. They choose to do all the things that a championship team has to have and needs to have.
“He's a championship coach.”
ESPN bracketologist Joe Lunardi hasn’t updated his latest tournament field projections, but before Friday night’s game he said the Sooners would likely still be out if they lost.
Moser was asked following the Sooners’ 82-79 loss to Cal’s Razorbacks what he wanted the country to know about his group.
“What I want the country to know is they're playing some of the best basketball in the country right now,” Moser said. “Analytically, one of the top 15 teams the way we're playing. Number one conference in the country. Going into tonight we won eight out of 10 SEC games.
“Should be glorified how young people stuck together in this day and age and overcame stuff. That should be glorified. What some of these guys were going through, the heartbreak stuff, 40-footers at Missouri . To keep coming back and to turn it. That's what I think the country wants to see. I think the country saw how good of basketball we're playing. I think the whole country saw that.”
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The Sooners were 11-12 on Feb. 4. Moser was firmly on the hot seat.
Now, OU is playing like a top 10 team in the country.
“I don't think anybody wants to play Oklahoma in this tournament,” Moser said. “I think they'll say it. Every coach said it to me, how we've played. That's what you want in the tournament. You want the best teams playing their best in the tournament. You don't want teams limping in, limping in.
“Oklahoma's not limping in. We're playing some of the best basketball in the country. I want the whole country to know that these guys are unbelievably hard. That should be glorified in this day and age. … Hopefully on Sunday, I feel confident, I really do. You never want it out of your hands. This team, 10 quad one and two wins, not limping in. I think that's the biggest message. Greatest tournament in the world. You want to see teams that are hot.”
Following a 37-point outing from star Darius Acuff Jr. and a semifinal bid, Calipari didn’t start his postgame news conference praising his squad.
He began with praising the job Moser has done. He knows OU has decisions to make.
“Folks, when you're winning, it's a different thing,” Calipari said. “When you're struggling, that's real coaching. How do you keep 'em up? How do you get 'em involved? How do you keep 'em believing when you're struggling?
“He did.”
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Colton Sulley covers the Oklahoma Sooners for The Oklahoman. Have a story idea for Colton? He can be reached at csulley@oklahoman.com or on X/Twitter at @colton_sulley. Support Colton's work and that of other Oklahoman journalists by purchasing a digital subscription today at subscribe.oklahoman.com.
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: John Calipari praises Porter Moser amid OU basketball turnaround
